Online companies are said to be snatching up the market.
PUBLISHED: 1 Oct 2024 at 04: 00
Senator Nantana Nantavaropas is urging Thai consumers to pay less for goods they ca n’t afford to buy from e-commerce platforms that are selling cheap, low-quality goods.
Sen Nantana raised concerns with the Commerce Minister yesterday about the country’s small and medium-sized businesses ( SMEs ) in Thailand’s large-scale influence of multinational e-commerce platforms.
She cited the rapid expansion of websites like Temu, which eliminate the need for intermediaries and offer a wide range of products at extremely low prices.
The senator made the point that users receive pretty poor products in return for lower prices, even though they may enjoy lower prices.
The materials may be contaminated, nearly expired, or uncomfortable, and eventually turn into garbage, she said.
Sen. Nantana noted that Thai retailers have experienced severe damage as more people place orders for goods from Chinese companies through this system, which has contributed to Thailand’s growing trade deficit with China.
In contrast to the same period last year, imports from China increased by over 1.33 trillion baht, or 7.12 %, in her opinion, further aggravated the trade deficit by 15.6 %.
Sen. Nantana questioned Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan’s plans to overcome the dominance of international e-commerce and the flood of poor quality products that are bad for consumers.
She also questioned how the government would pay for the damaged SMEs ‘ payment and close the trade war with China.
She inquired if the government may function with the other Asean nations to resolve this issue.
Sen Nantanas ‘ fears were acknowledged by Mr. Pichai, who claimed he had discussed the matter with the Thai ambassador to China on Thursday.
He claimed that the Chinese Ambassador had stated that he would support the import laws in Thailand and that he himself would n’t permit sales of imported goods that do n’t meet standards.
He added that China has even stated that it will invest more money in Thailand.
Mr. Pichai argued that more collaboration is required in order to help the SME field.
He added that the Bank of Thailand ( BoT ) and the Finance Ministry must work together to address the issue, and that the BoT should encourage SMEs to lower their debts by lowering interest rates.
The secretary said the defeat had been when Covid-19 struck.