Govt plans sessions with exporters on recovery needs

“The department will be a middleman to connect exporters and bankers so that they will easily access sources of funds and urgently boost exports in the near future,” Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general of the department, said yesterday.
Representatives from key economic organisations such as the Bank of Thailand and the National Economic and Social Development Board will also join the meeting, which will be chaired by Deputy Commerce Minister Siriwat Kachornprasart.
The meeting will focus on how Thailand will shore up exports after many companies in more than 20 provinces were seriously hit by floods, including makers of automobiles and parts, electronics, electrical appliances, processed foods, leather goods, and lifestyle and fashion products.
The meeting will also estimate the losses among exporters.
After meeting this month, the department says it will continue to follow up on the remaining impacts from the flooding and gradually seek measures to help those industries along with a strategy to boost exports and increase confidence among foreign traders.
It will also work on ways to solve transport problems, as many shipments have been delayed by the floods.
The department reported that it recently met with affected food exporters, which are concerned that some markets, mainly the United States, the European Union and Japan, have instituted stringent inspections because of doubts over the quality of tap water here.
The department will urgently increase understanding among foreign traders by ordering 65 commercial representatives overseas to explain and show the certification for the quality of tap water for use in industries in Thailand.
As a long-term measure, the department is planning to take roadshows to particular markets to show that Thailand still has strong potential to serve as the world's leading supplier of farm and industrial goods.
The targeted markets are the US, the EU, Japan, the Middle East, China and Asean.