Substandard Chinese Goods Flood Thai Markets, Cause Alarm

[webfact]

Reference picture courtesy: Wikipedia

 

Thailand is facing a significant influx of cheap, substandard goods from China, sparking widespread concern among local businesses and consumers.

 

This issue has gained renewed attention with the entry of Temu, a major Chinese platform that sells products directly from Chinese manufacturers. Thai businesses fear collapse, prompting calls for governmental action.

 

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai addressed the issue on Sunday. He assured that the Thai government would not impose trade barriers or tariffs, highlighting the importance of Thai-Chinese relations. Imposing such measures could invite retaliatory actions from China, a crucial market for Thai agricultural products, he added.

 

However, Sahassawat Kumkong, a People’s Party MP for Chon Buri, criticised this stance. He accused the Pheu Thai Party-led government of inaction against the influx of cheap Chinese goods.

 

Kumkong underscored that Thailand's trade deficit with China has persisted for 11 years, reaching a staggering $36 billion (1.27 trillion baht) in the past two years. He suggested collective action with other ASEAN nations, also facing similar issues, as a potential solution, reported Bangkok Post.

 

According to Sittiphol Viboonthanakul, chairman of the House committee on business development, 25 out of 46 Thai industrial sectors have been severely affected, experiencing a 30% drop in production. The Federation of Thai Industries noted that 111 factories have closed in recent months, while Temu continues to enjoy rapid growth, expanding twelve-fold each month.

 

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has responded to the Temu disruption by instructing relevant government agencies to ensure all imported products sold within Thailand adhere to local laws. This move aims to protect consumers and ensure fair competition within the market.

 

As the debate over appropriate measures continues, the Thai government faces increasing pressure to find a balance between maintaining diplomatic relations and protecting its domestic market from the flood of substandard Chinese goods.

 

-- 2024-08-13

 

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[Gsxrnz]

Don't know why they're blaming Temu for the downturn in the economy and factory closures.  Temu offer the same junk as Lazada, Shopee, Ebay  et al. 

[2baht]

Someone obviously imports this Chinese rubbish or do they just swim here!!! Lift your game and lower your prices Thailand, it's call competition!!!

[itsari]

I had not heard of Temu before and after taking a look at the app I will definatly try them . 

Two advantages with them are free delivery and the search engine is far superior to Lazada .

Far as Quality is concerned you get what you pay for . If it looks too cheap forget it has been my policy with Lazada.

I cant see Thailand imposing trade restrictions on China even if it is affecting production in Thailand.

[ExpatOilWorker]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai addressed the issue on Sunday. He assured that the Thai government would not impose trade barriers or tariffs, highlighting the importance of Thai-Chinese relations. Imposing such measures could invite retaliatory actions from China, a crucial market for Thai agricultural products, he added.

But why don't they at least inforce a bit of consumer protection.  The online sites that ship direct from China are full of fake batteries, substandard and sometimes downright dangerous electronic products, that can cause fires.

[ikke1959]

Thailand has often the same quality of products, but is more expensive... Customers buy things and if it is elsewhere cheaper they buy it there... Simple as it is, but Thailand can not accept it. Solution makes things cheaper.

[ExpatOilWorker]

Another concern is food products from China 🇨🇳. 

 

 

Edited August 13 by ExpatOilWorker

[JimHuaHin]

I am not sure the moderators will allow this, but ...

 

There are many academic books and journal articles in English (and more in Thai and Chinese) about the activities of the Chinese in Thailand over the last 300-400-odd years.

 

It is well know that about 100 years ago Rama VI raised concerns about the roles and business activities of the Chinese in Thailand, and indeed he wrote several pamphlets and articles about these issues, which resulted in restrictions of Chinese activities in Thailand due to the fear that the Chinese were not "assimilating", were beginning to dominate certain sectors of the Thai economy, and were a potential security threat.

 

It is also known that several powerful Chinese-Thai business families have been active in mainland China since shortly after the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

 

After the foundation of the People's Republic of China, an office over overseas Chinese affairs was established.  More recently, under Premier Xi, the Chinese government has established two "committees" to oversee "overseas Chinese affairs" - one committee's focus is overseas Chinese citizens in foreign countries, the other committee's focus is overseas Chinese who are not Chinese citizens (ie most of the ethnic Chinese living outside of China and who were born overseas and/or are citizens of foreign countries).  The latter committee includes in its membership not only powerful figures in the Chinese Communist Party, but also influential overseas Chinese academics and business people.

 

During the "Cold War", many countries had a fear that elements within their overseas Chinese communities were "fifth columnist" supporters of Communist China.   A fear, confirmed in recent media reports from numerous countries (Australia (see Clive Hamilton's recent book "Silent Invasion"), USA, etc., that has been justified.

 

 

 

[retarius]

Not a single article about these substandard Chinese goods has ever given an example of what the goods are.  kinda think that the factories closing down are making more expensive versions of cheap Chinese goods.

Thailand, wanna succeed? Invest in quality. 

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand is facing a significant influx of cheap, substandard goods from China, sparking widespread concern among local businesses and consumers.

If such goods are sub-standard and causing concern, why are they freely available in almost every Thai outlet?

Thais buy these products, add on a mark-up and re-sell for a profit.

[hotchilli]

32 minutes ago, retarius said:

Not a single article about these substandard Chinese goods has ever given an example of what the goods are.  kinda think that the factories closing down are making more expensive versions of cheap Chinese goods.

Thailand, wanna succeed? Invest in quality. 

Thailand has two distinct consumer markets, those with funds who can afford quality, and happily pay the price.

those on the lower budget scale cannot so they buy cheap products.

[nakhonandy]

This is not just a Thailand problem, it happens worldwide.

People with low income and low education are the target of these sites.

Maybe educate the people better. If it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.

 

Also never buy electrical stuff, especially batteries, chargers etc from these sites.

[Sydebolle]

I just LOVE it, hilarious. Thailand is facing a significant competition of cheap, substandard goods from China, sparking widespread concern among local businesses and consumers. 

In the past, Thailand had no competition in fakes and cheap more-than-substandard stuff; now the same people cry foul as the Chinese seem to be quite a bit faster, quicker, smarter and better than their Thai brothers. 

[placnx]

29 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

I just LOVE it, hilarious. Thailand is facing a significant competition of cheap, substandard goods from China, sparking widespread concern among local businesses and consumers. 

In the past, Thailand had no competition in fakes and cheap more-than-substandard stuff; now the same people cry foul as the Chinese seem to be quite a bit faster, quicker, smarter and better than their Thai brothers. 

Many similar products are imported by middlemen here for resale, so may be more expensive than the direct sales through Temu. On the other hand, if there is a serious problem, like your house burned down, then the importer could be theoretically responsible.

[Lancelot01]

13 hours ago, itsari said:

I had not heard of Temu before and after taking a look at the app I will definatly try them . 

Two advantages with them are free delivery and the search engine is far superior to Lazada .

Far as Quality is concerned you get what you pay for . If it looks too cheap forget it has been my policy with Lazada.

I cant see Thailand imposing trade restrictions on China even if it is affecting production in Thailand.

Beware, they also harvest personal data. 

[BusyB]

 

Tat.

[Puccini]

 

18 hours ago, webfact said:

...cheap, substandard goods from China...

 

The talk about "cheap, substandard goods from China" suggests that there are legal and regulatory stanards in Thailand for commercial goods.

 

These standards should be enforced by government agencies

—  regardless of the price of the goods

—  regardless of the country of origin 

—  regardless whether the products are manufactured in Thailand or imported 

 

With frequent spot checks and rigorous enforcement, people should be free to decide from what supplier in what country they buy their products and at what price.

[placeholder]

Bad Temu. It's a pity Amazon isn't available in Thailand...oh wait a minute...

 

Should Amazon Be Responsible for Everything It Sells and Ships? A U.S. Agency Will Soon Decide

The consumer safety agency began investigating Amazon in 2019 after a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal chronicled how Amazon’s marketplace side of its retail operations had sellers distributing dangerous and mislabeled products, such as children’s toys lacking proper choking-hazard warnings, motorcycle helmets that failed federal safety tests and children’s toys that contained lead levels exceeding federal limits.

https://archive.ph/9EyVr

https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-could-soon-be-on-hook-for-safety-of-third-party-products-it-sells-and-ships-be58b697

 

Edited August 13 by placeholder

[itsari]

6 hours ago, Lancelot01 said:

Beware, they also harvest personal data. 

Don't they all ?

King Google perhaps the worst offender.

[Banana7]

Thailand needs to add a huge steel tariff to imported Chinese steel products else all Thai steel production companies will go bankrupt. China is dumping steel into many countries. One of China's biggest steel company declared bankruptcy, debts of many billions of dollars. Most chinese steel have more finished steel inventory than their distributors. As these chinese steel companies continue going bankrupt, most certainly, their inventories will be sold at heavily discounted prices which no producer can compete with. See here for more details:

 

 

Edited August 13 by Banana7

[ExpatOilWorker]

4 hours ago, Puccini said:

 

 

The talk about "cheap, substandard goods from China" suggests that there are legal and regulatory stanards in Thailand for commercial goods.

 

These standards should be enforced by government agencies

—  regardless of the price of the goods

—  regardless of the country of origin 

—  regardless whether the products are manufactured in Thailand or imported 

 

With frequent spot checks and rigorous enforcement, people should be free to decide from what supplier in what country they buy their products and at what price.

China 🇨🇳 has a $1 trillion annual trade surplus. They want to offload their industrial overcapacity to they world, but they don't want/allow sufficient imports in return. It is a very one-sided trade policy.

At this rate, they will drain the world for foreign reserves, then what?

 

[ROGER DUNN]

Then why do let them Enter the Country?  And it’s not good for your Economy !

[MartinBangkok]

The main problem for Thailand is that Thai products are even inferiour in quality compared to Chinese products, not to mention products from developed nations.

Edited August 14 by MartinBangkok

[Mavideol]

On 8/13/2024 at 5:31 AM, webfact said:

 

Thailand is facing a significant influx of cheap, substandard goods from China, sparking widespread concern among local businesses and consumers.

China has to dump their garbage somewhere, preferable nearby, Thailand seems to be a good option as they have "brotherly" relationship, not many other options as Europe and USA are closing the doors

[Selatan]

On 8/13/2024 at 1:13 PM, retarius said:

Not a single article about these substandard Chinese goods has ever given an example of what the goods are.  kinda think that the factories closing down are making more expensive versions of cheap Chinese goods.

Thailand, wanna succeed? Invest in quality. 

My guess is automotive parts. Here in Malaysia, in the past, whenever I need to replace any car part, my mechanic usually propose parts from either Malaysia or Thailand. Nowadays? Almost always, parts from China, because they are cheaper and surprisingly better quality than the Thai and Malaysian versions.