The escalating trade war between China and the United States will result in the dumping of surplus Chinese products, especially consumer products, into the Thai market and this will seriously affect local manufacturers, said Peekthong Thongyai, vice president of the Federation of Thai Industries, today.
He noted that Chinese products are priced up to 40% less than similar goods which are locally produced, because China has an advantage over Thailand, in terms of production costs and production technology, making Chinese products more attractive to Thai consumers.
As a consequence, he said that many Thai SMEs may be forced to reduce production or to close down, as they are unable to compete.
The Thai private sector, said Peekthong, has urged the government to issue anti-dumping and import duty measures, or tariffs, to contain the anticipated increase in the import of Chinese products, in order to protect local industries.
In the meantime, he said that local manufacturers must adapt their business strategies, by using quality and eco-friendly raw materials in their production processes to produce quality products, reduce production costs through the introduction of technology and innovations and improve after-sales services to attract Thai consumers.
The FTI recently conducted a survey of 540 CEOs from 47 industries and 76 industrial councils.
The results show that 70.9% of the CEOs admit that Chinese products will increase their market share in Thailand, because of their advantages in terms of price and advanced technology.
72.7% of the CEOs believe that Chinese products will flood the Thai market and 52.4% believe that more cheap Chinese products will be smuggled into the country or become available online.
54.6% of the CEOs propose that Thai producers improve the quality of their products.
