The share prices of many soft drinks companies fell on Friday due to fears about the new sugar excise. Only Tipco Foods closed higher. Sappe, Haap Thip and Sermsuk remained unchanged.
Sunthorn of Krungsi Securities thinks that the companies that produce 'ice tea' are mainly screwed. Until now, they were exempt because their main ingredients, such as tea, were considered natural. Under the new measure, they will have to pay per volume as well as sugar percentage.
Sunthorn also thinks that the manufacturers of mineral water and energy drinks do nothing about the sugar content because consumers simply like sweets. So they are likely to raise prices. What producers of fruit juices will do is difficult to predict because the rate has not yet been set.
Non-alcoholic drinks with a sugar percentage of less than ten are not taxed. The maximum rate applies to drinks with 18 percent sugar or more.
A number of manufacturers will get creative and replace the sugar in soft drinks with natural sweeteners such as Stevia. The sweetener Stevia (steviol glycosides) is about 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar and provides no calories. It is isolated from the leaf of the stevia plant.
Source: Bangkok Post
It is hoped that more sugar-free drinks will now enter the Thai market. There are only a few.