Mom Luang Pikthong Thongyai, Vice Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), revealed the results of the 41st FTI CEO Poll in October 2024 under the topic ‘Cheap e-commerce platforms invade Thailand. How will the industry cope?’ It was found that 35.1% of FTI executives who responded to the survey had decreased sales due to the entry of cheap e-commerce platforms from abroad, especially in the categories of clothing, furniture, plastic products, packaging, etc. Some products sold through e-commerce platforms may be substandard, poor quality, or not as described, causing consumers to lose money and risking the safety of consuming the products. Therefore, FTI executives proposed that the government set conditions that foreign e-commerce platform providers must register as a legal entity and have an office in Thailand in order to be able to collect value-added tax (VAT) and strictly enforce laws related to consumer protection, including requiring platform providers to be responsible for returning produ
cts in cases of substandard or poor quality products.

However, the survey results found that most FTI executives still believe that Thai products can still compete with cheap products from abroad through e-commerce platforms. However, Thai entrepreneurs must quickly adapt to develop and create strengths for their products, especially in developing product standards, using innovative technologies to upgrade production processes and products, as well as creating business cooperation networks to promote domestically produced products and opening markets abroad.

Source: Thai News Agencyl