The Commerce Ministry is introducing a logistics strategy and measures to help empower Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to cope with a flood of overseas online providers.
Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said after talking with more than 10 leading logistics and warehouse operators, startup and e-marketplace operators, the group agreed to set up a joint working panel to map out measures and logistics to help SMEs benefit more from digital platforms.
New regulations may be needed to ensure fair competition, he said.
Mr Sontirat said the ministry is likely to have the measures ready in two weeks.
"The proliferation of overseas online operators is likely to harm not only Thai manufacturers but also traders and transport providers over the next five years if Thai SMEs fail to adjust and upgrade their digital presence," he said. "The measures are needed to protect and upgrade our SMEs."
Mr Sontirat said that at the meeting Thai business operators also expressed concerns about the e-marketplace in Thailand, citing most of the goods sold via the famous online platform such as Lazada, Shopee and others are Chinese products that are much cheaper than Thai goods.
This makes competing difficult for Thai manufacturers.
The business operators have proposed introducing greater quantities and varieties of Thai goods as an alternative for customers in the e-marketplace.
Cross-border e-commerce should also be promoted to raise trade with neighbouring countries.
The business operators proposed that the government negotiate with nearby countries' counterparts to develop regional logistic centres, with bonded warehouses to serve future e-commerce expansion.
According to the latest survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), only 3% of the agricultural and food processing industry is considered part of the digitally focused 4.0 era, despite being a crucial component of the economy and employing 15 million people.
Most are still considered 2.0 or 1.0 based on their lack of adoption and use of modern technologies.
A survey of 1,219 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Nov 5 to 19 found that 72.3% of SMEs surveyed were considered to be in the 2.0 era, being labour-intensive and using small machinery, while 22.8% were considered to be in 1.0 era, being mostly labour-intensive.
Only 1.97% were considered to be in the 3.0 era, using machinery for production, and 2.87% were considered to be in the 4.0 era, using technology, R&D and innovation for production.
In the past three years, the government has attempted to push these industries to use technology and R&D, Mr Sontirat said, but there has been little progress.
The joint survey by SME Bank and UTCC also found that of the 5.2 million SMEs in the country, about 2 million are small and micro SMEs. Most SMEs are still in the 2.0 era.