The Ministry of Commerce is set to extend its mobile grocery initiative into its fifth consecutive year, focusing on more than 100 locations across Greater Bangkok’s densely populated areas. Led by Department of the Internal Trade (DIT) Deputy Director-General Goranij Nonejuie, the campaign is projected to save Bangkok residents roughly 120 million baht each year in expenses.
During the New Year holiday period, when many standard stores are closed, these mobile outlets provide necessary goods such as eggs, sugar, cooking oil, and rice at lowered prices. The ministry collaborates with the National Housing Authority to rotate the location of these mobile stores every three days, ensuring broader community access.
The ministry also plans to continue supporting the Blue Flag program in provincial areas. This network, comprising 140,000 outlets, is essential for offering low-priced food items and plays a key role in distributing affordable products to smaller retail stores across the country.
In a bid to expand its reach, the ministry is increasing the number of Blue Flag food outlets, currently over 5,000 across Thailand, where meals are available for 25-30 baht. This expansion includes linking the outlets with suppliers of budget-friendly raw materials, further supporting the state welfare card scheme, which serves approximately 14 million customers. (NNT)
