"Akaniti" revealed the necessity of allowing the diesel price to increase by 1.80 baht to follow market mechanisms, admitting the price will surely surpass 33 baht. He affirmed this is not a betrayal but due to changed circumstances.
On 24 Mar 2026 GMT+7, Mr. Akaniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, disclosed on the program "Labor News: Off-Screen Talk" regarding the oil price situation that the Middle East war crisis was unexpected and severe, with uncertainty about what tomorrow holds. The first action after the incident was to use money from the oil fund to protect the public from impact, leading to the announcement of capping diesel prices at no more than 30 baht.
However, the latest assessment shows the situation is more severe and likely prolonged. Additionally, overlapping crises such as energy and natural gas crises exist. He recalled the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which mainly affected natural gas, but now oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals are all impacted. Discussions with finance ministers from several countries agreed this crisis will be long-lasting. Naturally, when people anticipate price increases, they tend to stockpile. On the day people learned of the impending oil price rise, car owners rushed to fill up. Thus, the current challenge is twofold: ensuring no oil shortage and sufficient supply for the public, while demand exceeds refining capacity, requiring careful management.
Furthermore, Mr. Akaniti confirmed that maintaining the price cap is no longer feasible; prices must follow global market forces. The oil fund will be used to cushion the impact so prices don’t rise too quickly, and everyone must adapt. From experience, resisting market price changes is futile. This is a severe energy crisis requiring all sectors to adjust, slowing impacts on the public by letting prices float but providing assistance to vulnerable groups. If price controls continue, shortages will worsen, and no country can successfully maintain price caps indefinitely.
Therefore, today we must manage according to market mechanisms. Honestly, when the market price exceeds the 33 baht ceiling—similar to Malaysia and global market prices—the price must follow. This is not betrayal but acceptance of the changed global reality.