Company has targeted overseas sales of US$3b by 2012 Half way to realising its 2012 ”business vision”, Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF) will soon achieve its target of having foreign-exchange earnings account for 50% of the company’s total revenue.

Giant retailers unfairly raise fees-Rice packers yesterday insisted some of the giant modern retailers increased the fee demanded from them every year, adding to their cost burden.

Somroek Tangpiroonthum, president of the Thai Rice Packers Association, said large retailers had increased the “back-margin” fee (also known as the “entrance” or “supplement” fee) from 1-2 per cent of the selling price to 5-10 per cent in recent years. Some modern retailers have also marked up the retail price by 6-10 per cent, he said, resulting in consumers paying over the odds. He called for the government to negotiate with large retailers to maintain the back-margin fee, as the sale of packed rice offered a low margin. If such charges were increased further, then suppliers would have to pass the burden on to consumers because of higher operating costs. The Internal Trade Department will soon set up a meeting between the giant retailers and the rice packers in a bid to solve the problem. Somroek also called on the government to release its rice stockpiles – particularly jasmine rice – via auction, in order to increase the supply for domestic traders. This would make up for a shortfall of rice in private warehouses.

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