House rejects opposition party’s liquor bill

The House has rejected a bill to liberalise the liquor industry, proposed by the opposition People’s Party, with a government MP saying it could potentially allow anyone to make liquor at will, with “severe” consequences.
The House on Wednesday voted down the bill sponsored by People’s Party MP Taopiphop Limjittrakorn by 237 votes to 137.
Before the vote, government chief whip Wisut Chainarun from the coalition-core Pheu Thai Party said the bill was impractical because it would allow people to produce liquor without having to seek permission from relevant authorities.
“This is a big issue. If every household is allowed to make liquor without legal control and that leads to death, the consequence will be severe. Permission requirement is necessary,” he said.
The House instead approved similar bills developed by Pheu Thai and the United Thai Nation party, a coalition partner, with 384 and 385 votes respectively.
It will now proceed with the scrutiny of the bills, based mainly on the bill backed by Pheu Thai.
Mr Taopiphop said the bill was a part of a broader campaign by his party to end monopolies in several businesses, adding that it would proceed with the attempts.
A lawyer turned craft brewer who was once arrested for illegal brewing, Mr Taopiphop has been campaigning for years to make the laws friendlier for small-scale producers.
More than half of the country’s alcoholic drinks market, valued at about 470 billion baht, consists of beer.
The beer market is essentially a duopoly with Boon Rawd Brewery controlling a 58% share followed by Thai Beverage Plc at 34.3%. ThaiBev is the runaway leader in the spirits market with a 59.5% share, with the second-place player holding only 8% of the segment, according to Krungsri Research.
Mr Taopiphop has said he was aiming to remove high barriers to entry, mainly in the form of required capital and annual production volume, that largely favour big firms like Boon Rawd and ThaiBev.
The aim would be help small domestic brewers gain at least 10% of the beer market within a decade, he said.