1 hour ago, Card said:

Apparently yes. That's why local Thai wine is so lousy. The local winemakers cannot reduce the price to sell volume and make enough profit to develop the local wine industry. They have been lobbying the govt to make them a special case for years but the govt is unsympathetic. It's a great shame coz Thailand could otherwise become a good wine producer.

I don't think so. They don't have the right soil. They don't have terroir. They won't hire expert winemakers from abroad. And the climate is marginal for wine. Not cold enough in the winter. 

 

And they are taxed at a far lower rate than imported wine, yet they still cannot succeed in producing anything drinkable. 

2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I don't think so. They don't have the right soil. They don't have terroir. They won't hire expert winemakers from abroad. And the climate is marginal for wine. Not cold enough in the winter. 

 

And they are taxed at a far lower rate than imported wine, yet they still cannot succeed in producing anything drinkable. 

 

 

So you think Silverlake don't use foreign expertise?

Good initiatives being rare, we must be delighted with this one, assuming that it comes true.

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, transam said:

No mention of Laos beer then.....????

Part of an ASEAN charter Thailand signed nearly 10 years ago stipulated free trade among alcoholic beverages throughout the nation's within it. Thailand signed it and then never adhered to it. How many bottles of Bintang have you seen lately in Tesco?

 

The beer and wine scene here is truly pathetic. 

The 50% reduction will be added to the profit lines on the P&L of the importer.

6 hours ago, Denim said:

I think they will have to bring bar fines and a round of golf down as well if this strategy is to work.

Bar fines first then golf.

Priorities Please 5555

What does Thailand have to offer the rich?

An unstable military regime,

Heaps of paperwork,

Incomprehensible language,

xenophobic  attitudes,

Corrupt officials.

On the plus side, there are knock off Nike trainers, Rolexes,

and substandard Chinese fireworks.

Just goes to show the lack of class/intelligence of them if they try to gain foreigners by simply cutting down alcohol tax.

 

Other countries would be thinking  about making the country more attractive though tourism/landmarks/services, and not by encouraging drunks

Tens of thousands of bottles of wine will turn to vinegar soon without foreigners around to drink it. 

Prices will go back after they shift old stock 

"We're going to lure 'well-heeled' millionaire farangs to Thailand by lowering the price of imported beer and wine."  ????  Hummm.

It defies logic.

wasn't this part of the free trade deal with Australia?

2 hours ago, Almer said:

And ginger nuts

And real Tim Tams

6 hours ago, Denim said:

I think they will have to bring bar fines and a round of golf down as well if this strategy is to work.

Well maybe the light is on at home!!! If Thailand is actually serious about attracting well off tourists and residents this is one scenario that really annoys people and that is the ridiculous taxes on imported alcohol. Thai people probably don't realise that in most wine producing countries wine with dinner is common place and almost the same price as bottled water etc. 

By reducing the duty and excise on wine & spirits to a level in line with other tourists destinations like Hong Kong for example I would reckon Thailand customs will increase revenue by the surge in sales! That is as long as the reduction is sensible and without being negative remember which country we are in lol, LOS!

1 hour ago, lahgon29 said:

Yep. You'll need a few more reverse gears on your tanks first, so you can retreat in the usual mode ????

As well as more reverse thrust on your  submarines ????

5 hours ago, rbkk said:

Aussie wines are looking for a market after being blocked access to China (And I'm guessing France!).

Their English is a little tricky as they say the duties will be slashed  MAYBE to half. Well I guess we will just have to wait and see, just like the vaccines.

8 minutes ago, ArcticFox said:

"We're going to lure 'well-heeled' millionaire farangs to Thailand by lowering the price of imported beer and wine."  ????  Hummm.

It defies logic.

That's normal... 

2 hours ago, Nojohndoe said:

They do in fact.  Here is a rather dated item but it gives a fairly good indication of the situation. Apart from suggested prices ....lol.

https://www.econ.chula.ac.th/public/publication/journal/2015/Jordan French.PDF

 

From what I can see in the article NJD, it would appear that according to page six, the imported wine gets double the tax in total, than does the local wine – – or am I reading that wrong?

Everyone knows high end tourists are soaks. Not like the former barflies of Chiang Mai.

6 hours ago, smedly said:

a round of golf used to be cheap here until foreigners got involved 

Foreigners like you, do you mean?

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

I don't think so. They don't have the right soil. They don't have terroir. They won't hire expert winemakers from abroad. And the climate is marginal for wine. Not cold enough in the winter. 

 

And they are taxed at a far lower rate than imported wine, yet they still cannot succeed in producing anything drinkable. 

There is a lot of truth in what you have said, and the concept of terroir is hard to explain here, however grape vines do best when there is variation in temperature throughout the day time, and in seasons (although they don't like frost).

 

Cooler temperatures at night help concentrate the anthocyanins and flavours in the grapes, whereas I don't think that the night-time temperatures here are conducive to that effect happening.

 

In addition, humidity can be a pain because it can encourage the growth of powdery mildew and downy mildew which can eventually kill the vine, and of course there are other pests which also thrive in humid conditions.

 

So the cards are stacked against Thailand producing very good wines, and certainly the ones I've tasted have a long way to go in matching even the cheapest wines from elsewhere.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

What a 50% reduction in import duty would mean at the till remains to be seen. 

Shop owners can still charge what they want cant they?  Price fixing for profit.  It happens

Peace

Also please stop the First Familys and their little war against the craft beer industry..

54 minutes ago, Artisi said:

And real Tim Tams

Jammy dodgers

https://www.siamdevelopment.com/product-registration-thailand/wine-import-tax-in-thailand/#:~:text=WINE DUTY TAX IN THAILAND Import Duty on,demanded and value can be increased by Custom.

 

Reading this article makes me think wine ain't going to be much cheaper, even after a 50% excise reduction...

And I just stocked up last week, save money but directly from the distributors here, most have websites and sell direct and ask for a discount. It’s usually 15-25% off so with retailers markup not added you save like 40%

 

23 minutes ago, Bundooman said:

Foreigners like you, do you mean?

555 But seriously, who wouldn't raise prices? Around the world, courses and clubs don't run on thoughts and prayers. What business does? I hear Anutin has a beautiful private course, designed by one of the west's golfing luminaries, and you can use it now and the attached resort, for bargain prices. it's called Rancho something... I'm not a golfer, I'm just spreading the lurve, it has a private airstrip too. 

For an ultra-salim, he's not all bad, he just does not belong in charge of health, he should be legalizing weed, like he promised. 

6 minutes ago, Almer said:

Jammy dodgers

Wagon Wheels, eat the Wagon Wheels!

I’ll always remember in Phuket ages ago, the table next to me ordered. Bottle of wine . The waitress came, put the bottle and an old fashioned opener on the table and left ! Laugh, the poor couple just looked lost , so I got up and opened the bottle for them. Not much has changed since then, except Bangkok and the higher class restaurants who often have fabulously modern walls of wine cellars. The one in Platinum Mall ( I think) is marvelous!  And the Starbucks is a show piece too, couldn’t believe my eyes .

4 minutes ago, Winegeeker said:

And I just stocked up last week, save money but directly from the distributors here, most have websites and sell direct and ask for a discount. It’s usually 15-25% off so with retailers markup you save like 40%

 

Can I be your new best friend? I'll bring the bargirls, barboys, cigars, or cocaine... I can pick up McDs on the way too, do you want to supersize?

A meal with decent wine in Thailand is amongst the highest prices in the world. Take champagne, as a benchmark for an example, the equivalent of £100 a bottle in the supermarket and £200 in a restaurant. In London, £25 and £50, which is about the same in Cambodia and Vietnam and most places in the world.

It's no surprise why Thailand attracts mostly beer drinkers!