Thai Industry Council Proposes Seven Priority Reforms
Thailand's industry and commerce sectors are launching a joint reform initiative to address seven priority challenges, with immediate focus on reviving the struggling pickup truck industry and expanding the Made in Thailand procurement prog
Industry Minister Warawuth Silpabucha announced the formation of a joint steering committee with the Thai Chamber of Commerce to drive Thailand's industrial economy forward. Both parties have agreed to establish a directing committee to set direction, monitor results, and accelerate key industrial initiatives. They will meet every two months and establish working groups to push concrete results.
The chamber proposed seven urgent priority issues for government support: (1) Addressing declining sales in Thailand's pickup truck industry, which represents 60% of total vehicle production, employs 800,000 workers, and uses over 90% locally-sourced components, through stimulus measures and tax incentives; (2) Promoting the Made in Thailand strategy with a 200 billion baht government procurement target, expanding beyond construction to rail systems, aerospace, and medical industries; (3) Advancing Thai agricultural machinery to position the country as an ASEAN leader and address labor shortages; (4) Improving industrial waste management through new legislation and circular economy initiatives; (5) Upgrading the Buy Thai program to boost local products and help Thai manufacturers compete with imports; (6) Strengthening Thailand's halal industry competitiveness in ASEAN and global markets, where the sector grows 6.7% annually; and (7) Formalizing cooperation mechanisms through joint working groups.
Pimjai Lee-Issaranukul, chamber president, noted that Thai industry faces mounting pressure from global economic slowdown, geopolitical volatility, supply chain disruption, and rapid technological change, making this a critical juncture for economic development.
