Thai RTD green tea brands fight government tax plan
Ready-to-drink green tea producers in Thailand are up in arms over a proposed government 10-20% excise tax on the bottled beverage from 2014.
But opponents argue that the measure will harm farmers and brands in a green tea beverage market worth 10bn baht/year, where farmers sell 10m kg of green tea leaves annually.
They also stress that, if the Thai government presses ahead with the tax, then other beverage categories such as coffee and juice should be included under fairness grounds.
