Bangkok (VNA) - An influx of cheap imports fromChina is posing a serious threat to Thai manufacturers, according to Thai KasikornResearch Centre (KResearch).
Last year, Thailand imported consumer products worth 469.5billion THB (13 billion USD) from China – up 2.8% year-on-year, which accountedfor 41% of all imports of consumer products, KResearch said, citing statisticsfrom the Commerce Ministry.
Electrical appliances made up 43.3% of products importedfrom China, higher than other products that comprised fresh and processedfruits (10%), clothes and shoes (9.3%), furniture and home decorations (9.1%),and kitchenware (9%).
According to a Kresearch study, the Chinese imports haveheightened the competition with domestic products, especially in segments whereChinese products are significantly cheaper because of lower production costs,including shoes, bags, vegetables and fruits.
The centre also found that Thai manufacturers have graduallyreduced production capacity in the non-food sector that is heavily competingagainst Chinese counterparts, such as apparels and furniture, which are nowusing only around 30-45% of their capacity.
The retail industry is forecast to expand by 3% this year to approximately4.1 trillion THB. The expansion will be driven mainly by spending by foreigntourists, while the price mechanism will prompt around 60% of retail operatorsto adjust their price up in the next three months, it said.
Earlier this week, the Thai Commerce Ministry announced that itwas considering measures to combat the influx of cheaper products from overseas, include expanding the list of productslegally required to have Thai Industrial Standard certificates and revising thetax break on imported products worth under 1,500 THB (41 USD) sold on online platforms./.
