Academics and the private sector have joined forces to push for Thai community liquor to enter the world market, suggesting fair collection of liquor taxes and providing knowledge to producers for export.
Mr. Wisarn Techathirawat, Chairman of the Special Committee on the Consideration of the Draft Act on Controlling Alcoholic Beverages, revealed that after 2020, more people have started to make community liquor. Originally, Thailand was able to make liquor such as Sato and U liquor, while other countries, such as China, have Moutai, Japan, Sake, and South Korea, have Soju. Thailand has people who have received awards for producing community liquor. However, the government is considering the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act to support the promotion of community liquor to have economic opportunities and create more awareness.
‘Back in the time of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, there was a policy to implement the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) project, in which liquor was a product that generated more
income for the local economy. In addition, there were various events organized for local liquor entrepreneurs to participate in, and laws were gradually amended,’ said Mr. Wisarn.
Mr. Suttikorn Kingkaew, the research project manager of the Research and Consulting Institute of Thammasat University, revealed that the current challenge for the alcoholic beverage industry is doing business in a time of economic slowdown. The regulations on the distribution of alcoholic beverages are unreasonable, such as setting unreasonable sales times and prohibiting alcohol on religious holidays, which is an issue for foreign tourists.
From the perspective of foreign tourists, they stated that they are responsible drinkers and drinking will help enhance the experience when drinking normally and accessible at a reasonable price. Therefore, it cannot be denied that alcoholic beverages are part of tourist activities. Meanwhile, advertising laws are also an important issue because unclear laws lead to some officials using them t
o demand bribes from business operators.
The excise tax structure related to alcoholic beverages still has many irrationalities, such as collecting excise tax based on both alcohol volume and alcoholic beverage value, such as white liquor, which has the highest sales volume and has very low alcohol tax collection. Emphasizing alcohol volume will help reduce side effects such as drunk driving leading to accidents and fights.
‘Appropriate tax cuts will create added value and create soft power for alcoholic beverages, especially cocktails, where each shop has its own unique cocktail recipe and ingredients. This will support tourism, generate domestic income and employment, respectively.
Mr. Kengkarn Laowirojanakul, Corporate Affairs Director of Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand) Limited, said that as an importer and distributor of foreign alcoholic beverages, he is pleased that the government is giving importance to local liquor. However, there are still issues that need to be resolved: 1. Laws that facilitate s
mall-scale liquor production; 2. Laws that facilitate sales, including unlocking sales time and advertising; and 3. Cooperation and development to enable Thai liquor to go international.
For example, Diageo is a brand that has been around for 200 years. In the past, it was a local spirit from Scotland, which is good at producing whisky. We can produce all kinds, but what’s important is quality, packaging, marketing, and how to make people think of our brand. Personally, if I were to give it a score of 0-100, I think that Thailand doesn’t even get to 10 points. We are considered to be in our infancy, but I believe that we can try to help make it better.
Diageo can support the Thai local liquor industry by 1. developing the production site to be a tourist attraction. Another example is in Scotland, where there is Johnnie Walker Princes Street, and 2. marketing. If the government negotiates a free trade agreement (FTA) with Europe and England, including including taxes in products that receive tax exemptions,
it will be an opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs to open markets in Europe. But in the near future, with Thailand having the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), we can try exporting to 10 neighboring countries first.
Ms. Prapawee Hematas, Executive Director of Group B Co., Ltd. and Secretary-General of the Craft Beer Business Association, revealed that in the past 2 years, there have been many people interested in exporting local liquors or craft beers to sell abroad, whether in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, the United States or Europe. This means that Thai products, especially food, can go far and she thinks that Thai beverages have the opportunity to go far on a global scale as well.
But the problem is that local liquor producers are small-scale producers who do not understand or have knowledge about exporting. The first thing is that they want the government to help them by providing advice and creating understanding. Meanwhile, the association was established to work on laws that help unlock craft beer and
local liquor by joining the committee to amend the law because members see that the law is the main obstacle that prevents small-scale entrepreneurs from developing their products and businesses. As for excise tax, it is a cost that makes craft beer so expensive that people don’t drink it. Therefore, tax is an important issue that the association is trying to demand to be amended.
Source: Thai News Agency