Thai Restaurant Association Appeals to PM for Immediate Economic Boost to Avoid Closures

[snoop1130]

 

On July 1st, 2024, Mr. Sorathep Rojpotjanaruch, head of the Thai Restaurant Business Association, appealed to Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. His request was for immediate economic help to prevent more restaurants from shutting down.

 

The current economic crisis, lower buying power among the Thai people, increasing raw material prices like vegetables, and high electricity costs have forced several restaurants to close. In 2019, before COVID-19 struck, the Thai restaurant industry earned around 420 billion baht, presenting 7% of the country's GDP. However, Sorathep pointed out that production costs have gone up by roughly 50%, and prices for raw materials have risen by 20-30%.

 

Despite the industry's expectation to grow by 4-5% in 2024, with a promising first quarter, growth has stalled since April, and restaurants continue to close. For instance, a famous buffet restaurant's profits nosedived by more than 143 million baht in the first quarter. Small street vendors and restaurants have struggled due to lack of funds.

 

 

The association believes urgent action from the Thai government can steer the industry clear from collapse. Their request includes updating old laws such as the 1972 ordinance banning the sale of alcoholic drinks in restaurants between 2 PM and 5 PM, reducing property taxes for restaurants, and launching spending incentives.

 

The incentives proposed are up to 20,000 baht tax breaks for individuals and 100,000 baht for businesses on expenses with valid receipts. For the public, the suggestion is a provision of 2,000 baht per person for three months, using a digital wallet app to be used only on food, ranging from street vendors to small restaurants.

 

The association hopes these actions will offer much-needed support and help the restaurant sector ride through these testing times, Sorathep added.

 

File photo for reference only

 

-- 2024-07-02

 

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[redwood1]

Encouraging farang to stay less than 180 days a year and taxing the bejesus out of the farang that stay should do wonders for the restaurant business...

[BangkokReady]

"Times are hard, so the government needs to subsidise our businesses!"

 

Nice idea, but where does all this free money come from?

[Ben Zioner]

Was talking about Monsoon (Soi 8) on another thread. Tenderloin and Lamb chops gone from 700 to 1000, 2 years ago, never ordered again. No more Guacamole with the Fajitas, still eat them as they have a magic hand for the beef. But all that makes me stay that the place is not as good as it was in the pre-Covid years. So yes, life is tough now, but "it wasn't meant to be easy".

[ikke1959]

Start with lower the real prices of wines... Welcome expats and longstayers instead of chasing them out with high taxes... Make tourists welcome instead of scam them everywhere and with everything.. and the list can go on

[yang123]

Hub  of closures?😕

[petermik]

1 hour ago, yang123 said:

Hub  of closures?😕

Committee being set up as we speak to recommend this....

[DLock]

I eat out a lot in restaurants, as in most days for lunch and dinner and sometimes breakfast, but these new tax laws will reduce my discretionary spending as I will bring less money into Thailand, money that I would have brought in to spend in Thailand.

 

So, as a sample size of 1, the tax system has backfired. I will leave money outside and spend less in Thailand...in restaurants. I hope many go out of business to show the Government how powerful we are as a financial pillar in Thailand.

 

I understand taxes, but I'm not sure taxing foreigners bringing money into Thailand to clearly spend in Thailand is the ideal strategy.

[Maitdjai]

Could it be, that there are too many?

[sidneybear]

3 hours ago, redwood1 said:

Encouraging farang to stay less than 180 days a year and taxing the bejesus out of the farang that stay should do wonders for the restaurant business...

Why do expats think that they're solely responsible for keeping the Thai economy afloat, when they're such a miniscule minority? Delusions of grandeur. 

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, sidneybear said:

Why do expats think that they're solely responsible for keeping the Thai economy afloat, when they're such a miniscule minority? Delusions of grandeur. 

 

Sir if it was not for me and my happy hour beer drinking buddies Thailand would be headed for economic devastation......We support Thailand one Chang beer at a time...

[proton]

5 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Start with lower the real prices of wines... Welcome expats and longstayers instead of chasing them out with high taxes... Make tourists welcome instead of scam them everywhere and with everything.. and the list can go on

 

They reduced the tax on wine months ago, all still the same prices!

[hotchilli]

Thais screwing themselves, farmers all say they are selling at all time lows, the supplies have all increased in price due to middle men, the restaurants have all jacked up prices, the customers now vote with their feet.

 

[J Branche]

Coconuts used to be about 16 or 18 baht, now same size is 45 to 50 baht.  Both vendors I use to buy from Closed.  No one buying at close to 3x price from a few years ago.  

 

What will happen is same thing in US when they raised the wages for everyone.  Prices will get to the point people living in Thailand will start cutting back and say "Nope"

Tourist, Rich people will still buy.  Restaurants will close, people will be unemployed/underemployed and struggle.

Tax revenue from now closed Restaurants will disappear and Money will have to come from somewhere.

[Presnock]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Thais screwing themselves, farmers all say they are selling at all time lows, the supplies have all increased in price due to middle men, the restaurants have all jacked up prices, the customers now vote with their feet.

 

sounds of the US businesses that the middleman becomes richer while those supplying the goods (produce, fish, crabs, oysters, etc) get poorer and poorer I am speaking from experience with my family and friends in the states who are suppliers of seafood on the east coast.

[Maitdjai]

3 minutes ago, J Branche said:

Coconuts used to be about 16 or 18 baht, now same size is 45 to 50 baht.  Both vendors I use to buy from Closed.  No one buying at close to 3x price from a few years ago.  

 

What will happen is same thing in US when they raised the wages for everyone.  Prices will get to the point people living in Thailand will start cutting back and say "Nope"

Tourist, Rich people will still buy.  Restaurants will close, people will be unemployed/underemployed and struggle.

Tax revenue from now closed Restaurants will disappear and Money will have to come from somewhere.

Monopolization. It's common in TiT, in the interest of a view. It started with some well-known "big" players.
The cannibalization process is reaching more sectors, and going down the ranks. This is destroying the former quiet fair competition, at least in this sector. Supported by expanding new "own-foot-shot" regulations, which are getting more difficult to fulfill for many small businesses.

In addition, a growing demand for the soulless, pseudo-luxury, nuevo-rich venues,
and the McDonald's-Amazon plastic-shopping-mall affinity of the folks takes its toll.

In tourist areas is sheer oversupply the problem. New venues popping up at every corner, having to share fewer customers with more competitors.

The suggestions in the article are a call for state subsidy (who pays it?), to keep it up like it is. With, or without "digital wallets".
Deduction of expenses from the taxed revenue should be a casualness of design.
There is a strong urge for tax collection by the government in any possible sector, but there needs to be at least a functional system to be implemented, before the call.

Another administrative, half-cooked, bureaucrat monster, with dozens of flip-flop decisions is predictable.
But this is a problem in many countries. Bureaucrat desk jockeys over-regulate, creating senseless rules, to maintain their presence.
Many of those issues are home-brewed. There is nothing to blame on COVID anymore.


 

[Aussie999]

16 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

"Times are hard, so the government needs to subsidise our businesses!"

 

Nice idea, but where does all this free money come from?

Printing press, and a artificially high baht

[Tubulat]

Have mentioned it before 3 or 4 people manage the wholesale companies and make the prices.
See the same with wine that was supposed to go down in price months ago, they are still as high.
Also western (read German) companies like Lidl and Aldi, don't get in, the are held back by those same 3 or 4 people.

The country is getting poorer and poorer because of these same individuals but the Thai people don't realise it, they don't know about it because they are kept stupid in this.

[Peterphuket]

2 minutes ago, Tubulat said:

Have mentioned it before 3 or 4 people manage the wholesale companies and make the prices.
See the same with wine that was supposed to go down in price months ago, they are still as high.
Also western (read German) companies like Lidl and Aldi, don't get in, the are held back by those same 3 or 4 people.

The country is getting poorer and poorer because of these same individuals but the Thai people don't realise it, they don't know about it because they are kept stupid in this.

You also see it with the Makro, Lotus, Carrefour, all taken over by the same companies, competition is eliminated, the same high prices everywhere.

[Maitdjai]

30 minutes ago, Tubulat said:

The country is getting poorer and poorer because of these same individuals but the Thai people don't realise it, they don't know about it because they are kept stupid in this.

Many, not only not-so-well-situated Thais realize it! And the majority voted for a change.
But they get drawn over the table, again, and again.
The last example is the farce of the Senate (s)election.

[CLW]

1 hour ago, Tubulat said:

Have mentioned it before 3 or 4 people manage the wholesale companies and make the prices.
See the same with wine that was supposed to go down in price months ago, they are still as high.
Also western (read German) companies like Lidl and Aldi, don't get in, the are held back by those same 3 or 4 people.

The country is getting poorer and poorer because of these same individuals but the Thai people don't realise it, they don't know about it because they are kept stupid in this.

That still baffles me since a long time. First, that there are no discounter supermarkets like Aldi or Lidl in Thailand. And secondly, that there are no no-brand-name food products at existing retailers. Example, if you want to buy chips / crisps, most likely end up with Lays. Meat, only CP and Betagro. Beer, Singha or ThaiBev. And the list goes on....

[CLW]

15 hours ago, Maitdjai said:

Could it be, that there are too many?

Yes, definitely too many bad or mediocre restaurants, even for Thai food around.

Every Dick and Harry thinks they can open a cafe or restaurant and make a fortune.

They are even copying the concept from the business next door. How stupid...

And now the government should help these unsuccessful businesses, that never ever had a financial plan or chance to survive???  

[Maitdjai]

2 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

Printing press, and a artificially high baht

Photocopying! This is a major economic factor in TiT. Lol.
In serious,
an "artificial" high Baht? How do they want to manage that?
They never really could. The "golden" time, when it's raining money (foreign currencies), is over.
The foreign currency reserve, one of the major assets of the national budget, has decreased remarkably. 
Reluctantly, this puppet government realizes it, and desperately announces a new hub, every week.
Or that a visa exemption for a bunch of tourists from Mongolia is a breakthrough.
Even this needs weeks to consider, and take place.
The elites are quite relaxed like always, while the Chinese taking over "the land of the free" under their watch.
Not too many alternatives, in my point of view.

[Maitdjai]

44 minutes ago, CLW said:

Yes, definitely too many bad or mediocre restaurants, even for Thai food around.

Every Dick and Harry thinks they can open a cafe or restaurant and make a fortune.

They are even copying the concept from the business next door. How stupid...

And now the government should help these unsuccessful businesses, that never ever had a financial plan or chance to survive???  

You're talking about the Farang, super smart, "rich" entrepreneurs?
They're not the problem. If they fail, some of them go back home in their underwear.
Against advice, one's better judgment. or common sense.

As you said, "copying" is a problem.
It worked with "Rolex" watches, DVD-CD-Software, or Hilfxcker t-shirts.
Long gone, and a niche business today.
But the disposition is still the same. A laundromat shop, self-service car wash, it doesn't matter what,
anything pops up copied inflationary in the close neighborhood.
If opening the 5th laundromat shop, in the direct neighborhood, why, or how can it be successful?
Better question: Why doesn't it?
Another good example is weed shops. Too much, is too much, until the end.
Society structure and education are the tasks.

[CLW]

26 minutes ago, Maitdjai said:

You're talking about the Farang, super smart, "rich" entrepreneurs?
They're not the problem. If they fail, some of them go back home in their underwear.
Against advice, one's better judgment. or common sense.

As you said, "copying" is a problem.
It worked with "Rolex" watches, DVD-CD-Software, or Hilfxcker t-shirts.
Long gone, and a niche business today.
But the disposition is still the same. A laundromat shop, self-service car wash, it doesn't matter what,
anything pops up copied inflationary in the close neighborhood.
If opening the 5th laundromat shop, in the direct neighborhood, why, or how can it be successful?
Better question: Why doesn't it?
Another good example is weed shops. Too much, is too much, until the end.
Society structure and education are the tasks.

Acutually talking about Thais and opening a restaurant with no clue or business plan.

You might as well burning your money. Same result....

[Peabody]

2000 THB digital wallet should be useful for the chicken-heart-on-a-stick and smoothie vendors.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, Presnock said:

sounds of the US businesses that the middleman becomes richer while those supplying the goods (produce, fish, crabs, oysters, etc) get poorer and poorer I am speaking from experience with my family and friends in the states who are suppliers of seafood on the east coast.

Covid made time tough for many... now they are clawing back every baht they can get to pay-off debt or keep up with rising costs..

Locals end up paying inflated prices... inflation hurts everyone.

[Presnock]

1 minute ago, hotchilli said:

Covid made time tough for many... now they are clawing back every baht they can get to pay-off debt or keep up with rising costs..

Locals end up paying inflated prices... inflation hurts everyone.

That is exactly what the shoppers are complaining about in the states - after COVID in which businesses had to close, then inflation hit and all the businesses jacked up prices from fast foods, gasoline, restaurants, grocercy stores, et al.....now a coupld of year later, the prices are still jacked up and the businesses don't understand why no one is coming into the business nor buying anything.

[Maitdjai]

2 hours ago, CLW said:

Acutually talking about Thais and opening a restaurant with no clue or business plan.

You might as well burning your money. Same result....

Thank you, me too, Lol!

I guess, I've mentioned both "species".
Considering the cake to share, it's irrelevant if locals or foreigners.

Some people might come to TiT, and start looking for clues.
But a "business plan" for a restaurant? Lol!
In many cases, I've seen, I doubt it would have been so helpful.

Common sense, surveillance of the closer surroundings,
and knowledge of basic arithmetics should be sufficient to start.

As I've mentioned, there are some basic "variables".  Especially for foreigners, there are many more.
In this context, forget about "smart" business plans.
AI generated, within 5 minutes? Who cares about it?
The TiT-style "crystal ball", is the same, but more authentic.
Never forget, where you are.

And don't worry, I'm burning money for living in "paradise".
That's why I'm here, not for working.



 

 

[connda]

It's a free market.  Have the government throw money at the problem only increases the inflationary pressure.  Let the market shake out those who can't compete.