Struggling One Tambon One Product (Otop) entrepreneurs should quit while government support should focus on those with potential, suggested Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday.
The premier expressed his opinion at an event in which the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (Osmep) signed a memorandum of understanding with 31 partners to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
He said the Osmep should provide support to SMEs with business potential, not to failing Otop firms.
Otop entrepreneurs that could not survive the business should suspend their operations.
Otop is the brainchild of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was inspired by the success of Japan's Oita prefecture. The scheme has been run since 2001.
The Yingluck Shinawatra government had a policy to promote Otop goods. In May 2014, the Finance Ministry said it would provide a 10-billion-baht credit guarantee around 70,000 Otop operators.