EXPORTS

EXPORTS

Kittiratt keen on food hub

The Commerce Ministry wants Thailand to remain the food production hub in Asean and hopes to push export growth this year to 20%.

The government wants to support Thailand as the trading hub for food in Asean.
Thailand is the No. 1 producer in the region and ranks sixth in the world as a supplier of foods including rice, sugar, tapioca, vegetables and fruits as well as processed foods.
Speaking at a forum on the Asean Economic Community (AEC), Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said Thailand would focus on Asean, China, India and Japan, with which Thailand or Asean have trade pacts. Thai exports to Asia account for most of the total and are projected to rise in the future due to economic problems in Europe and the US.
Mr Kittiratt said the government would back Thai small and medium-sized exporters to better compete in Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Vietnam by using trade representatives.
He said the government lags behind the private sector in free trade and would like to conduct a joint strategy in preparation for AEC implementation in 2015.
Thailand has higher production costs than some neighbouring countries for raw materials and crops. It also needs to develop skilled labour to allow free movement of workers.
"Thailand has been at a standstill on free trade talks for a while, ceding position to our neighbours. We need to speed up talks to expand markets," said Mr Kittiratt.
The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion lists 2.9 million SMEs in Thailand, with 1.38 million in trade and maintenance, almost a million in services and the rest in production. Together they employ 10.5 million workers.