The Latest Breaking News from Commerce Ministry

The buzz over #khaonieomamuang and #MILLILiveatCoachella seems to have an ironic twist with Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha jumping on the bandwagon and claiming he was the one who nudged Thailand to develop its "soft power" to attract the world's attention.

The Commerce Ministry will seek cabinet endorsement for a proposed negotiation framework for a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the European Free Trade Association (Efta) following a recent public hearing on the matter.

A sharp rise in the prices of goods and services following higher costs for production, energy, imported materials and logistics has prompted the Commerce Ministry to raise its forecast for headline inflation to 4-5% this year from a previous estimate of 0.7-2.4%.

Headline consumer price index (CPI) jumped by a higher-than-expected 5.73% in March from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 13 years, driven by stronger prices of goods and energy, the Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Commerce Ministry is preparing to protest against a US investigation that could result in tariffs on solar panels imported from four Southeast Asian nations including Thailand.

The restaurant business showed signs of recovery as new eateries registered with the Commerce Ministry returned to the top three sectors last month.

Thailand's exports beat expectations by growing 16.2% in February, driven by higher international demand on the back of global economic recovery and proactive trade promotions.

The Commerce Ministry is upbeat about fruit export prospects, predicting outbound shipments to grow by 15% this year while pledging to speed up tackling existing export obstacles and promoting sales via advance contracts.

The Commerce Ministry pledges to address feed meal prices, which are surging because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Commerce Ministry is scheduled to open a new online outlet called TOPTHAI Store on Taiwanese e-commerce platform PChome Store on March 29 to tap Taiwanese buyers, focusing initially on fashion and bio-, circular and green (BCG) products.

The Commerce Ministry recently announced Thailand's headline inflation rate rose 5.28% in February year-on-year, which was higher than expected. The surge in the economic indicator marked the fastest rate jump in 13 years and breaches the central bank inflation target for this year.