Association urges PM to expand co-pay scheme

The Thai Restaurant Association plans to submit an open letter to the prime minister, calling for the expansion of the "Thai Chuay Thai Plus" (Thais Help Thais Plus) co-payment scheme to include larger restaurant operators.

The Thais Help Thais Plus co-payment scheme allows restaurants, beverage shops and small retailers that are not registered as legal entities, as well as public transport operators such as motorcycle taxi and metered taxi drivers, to participate.

Public transport services such as metro, bus and boat operators are also eligible to register for the scheme.

Legal entities that sell food, beverages or goods may join the scheme if their annual revenue does not exceed 1.8 million baht.

Under the scheme, the government will subsidise 60% of the purchase price, with participating individuals covering the remainder. The subsidy is capped at 200 baht per day and 1,000 baht per month for four months. The scheme runs from June 1 to Sept 30.

The association released the open letter to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, stating that restaurant operators are struggling amid the current economic situation. In the second quarter of this year, sales have fallen by 30-50%, while raw material costs have risen by 15-20%.

This combination of rising costs and declining sales has added pressure to existing challenges, including rising labour costs, labour shortages and the high commissions charged by food delivery platforms.

The association asked the prime minister to consider expanding the eligibility criteria or launching new measures to allow restaurant operators with annual revenue of between 2-5 million baht, which she classified as small restaurants, to participate in the co-payment scheme.

The association's president, Thaniwan Kulmongkol, told the Bangkok Post that after the first week of the Thais Help Thais Plus scheme, small restaurant operators had seen a further drop in already sluggish sales as diners turned to micro food vendors participating in the co-payment scheme.

"Small restaurant operators who are legal entities feel this is unfair. They have complied with all regulations, including value-added tax registration, and social security contributions for employees. They are also feeling the economic impact, but are not eligible to participate in the current co-payment scheme," she said.

Meanwhile, a large restaurant operator has also been impacted by the scheme. Suki Teenoi, a shabu shabu restaurant chain, posted on its Facebook fan page on Monday, pointing out that the Thais Help Thais Plus is a successful stimulus measure for supporting micro-operators.

However, as a large operator, the company is not eligible for this scheme and has observed a significant decline in diners. The company plans to use this period to renovate three of its existing locations.