On a day when praise for the work capabilities of Supachai Suthumpun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, turned into criticism, insults, and disparagement,
no one knows exactly how Supachai felt, but last week she visited the Ministry of Commerce’s press room and openly shared her experiences over the recent period.
She admitted feeling "undervalued" amid criticism of her work, especially concerning the prices of key agricultural products and fruits, where the ministry had acted proactively before problems arose.
This included finding markets in advance both domestically and internationally, linking production to consumers nationwide, promoting domestic consumption, seeking private sector cooperation to purchase produce, and encouraging processing into various value-added products.
These efforts helped push up prices for many products, despite the current government lacking the hundreds of billions of baht in agricultural management budgets that previous administrations had.
Yet, instead of praise or approval, there was only criticism, insults, and widespread negative feedback.
A clear example was the case of durian and Pimy Pai, who volunteered to live-stream durian sales but faced criticism for products not matching descriptions, smaller fruit sizes, pricing considered too low, and concerns about undermining overall durian market prices.
However, Supachai explained,"This was a pre-market strategy for smaller or export-grade durians. If we did not quickly sell or raise awareness about the large quantities of small, cheap durians, these products would remain unsold and drag down overall durian prices."
At the same time, she personally visited Vietnam and China to discuss with border agencies to facilitate durian and other fruit transportation from Thailand through Vietnam to China, reaching Chinese consumers.
She also instructed commercial attachés in various countries, especially China, to negotiate with importers to increase purchases of Thai durians and fruits, targeting durian exports of no less than one million tons, while directing provincial commerce offices to find domestic markets alongside campaigns promoting local consumption.
As a result, from January to July 2026, Thailand exported 1.11 million tons of durians worth over 127.22 billion baht. Prices of durians and fruits in the eastern region were at levels satisfactory to farmers, while in 2025 total exports reached around 900,000 tons valued at over 150 billion baht.
Regarding durians and fruits from the south, which were later in season and suffered price declines due to Malaysian durians’ lower prices, the Ministry of Commerce helped absorb 200,000 tons outside the area, but Supachai said, "No one knows about this!"
Most recently, on 9 August 2026, she brought diplomats from 15 countries to visit durian production areas in Surat Thani Province to experience the quality, taste, and variety of Thai fruits, linking "fruit, trade, and tourism."
"Yet there were criticisms asking why they came, saying it was useless since the durians were gone. Those critics don’t understand what we are doing. We planned to market in advance before southern durians come out next year. If we can sell them, there will be no price problems," Supachai said.
Regarding other agricultural products like palm oil, Supachai said prices are now favorable, averaging 8-9 baht per kilogram, up from just over 5 baht previously. This resulted from export permit measures initiated during the early stages of the Middle East conflict and government policies to increase palm oil use in biodiesel.
"Initially, when this measure was introduced, the Ministry of Commerce was heavily criticized for blocking exports. We did not block them; rather, anyone wishing to export had to obtain permission first to prevent all supplies from being exported and causing domestic shortages."
Meanwhile, for animal feed corn, strict import controls were set, along with domestic purchase price ceilings and bans on importing corn from burnt sources, reducing imports from neighboring countries and pushing domestic prices higher.
For paddy rice, there were management measures including price stabilization from the start of the season and continuous efforts to find export markets.
Although proactive work on fruits and various agricultural products helped Supachai manage, criticism has been severe regarding the handling of livelihoods and cost of living during the Middle East conflict crisis, accusing the ministry of being slow and unresponsive.
She explained the crisis was caused by external factors beyond Thailand's control, affecting all countries. Is there any country whose cost of living did not rise during this crisis? However, the Ministry of Commerce mobilized all its departments to help alleviate the impact on the public.
Regarding the idea of "Thai Curry Rice Helping Thais" offering meals for no more than 40 baht to reduce living costs, after discovering that prepared foods and single-dish meals had risen in price and did not decrease with lower costs, the plan was heavily criticized, forcing Supachai to quickly withdraw it.
On this matter, Supachai said the intention was to help reduce living costs, but if it was not done, that was acceptable. After announcing the plan, many pointed out where meals were still sold cheaply at 30, 35, or no more than 40 baht.
However, this open conversation happened within a limited time; many issues remain unresolved on social media, and Supachai has yet to address them, but she concluded by saying,
"The Ministry of Commerce’s work has many facets and must balance the interests of all parties, which means there will be those who like and those who dislike, with both praise and criticism. But it’s okay; we will continue our work for the benefit of the people and the country."
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