Export promotions shift away from traditional markets

After an urgent meeting on export promotion, Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol said yesterday that the ministry would focus its marketing plan this year on new and emerging markets, while reducing some activities in economies experiencing slowdowns, including the European Union, the United States and Japan.

"The ministry projects that overall exports in the second half of this year will grow by not less than 10 per cent, while shipments to new markets will grow by more than that. This should ensure that Thailand achieves export growth of at least 14.8 per cent to US$263 billion [Bt31.8 trillion] worth this year," Poom said.

Under the ministry’s export-promotion plan this year, it will cut activities in mature markets from 81 last year to 48 this year.

It will increase activities in dynamic markets including Asean, mainland China, India and Hong Kong. Promotion activities will be increased from 115 last year to 141. Most of these activities will consist of overseas trade fairs and business mission, along with product and service development.

It will also increase the number of export-promotion activities in emerging markets from 47 to 49 this year. These emerging markets include countries in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Somchai Phornchindarak, president of the Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association, said the financial crunch in the euro zone and the slow recovery of the United States had spurred Thai exporters to seek new markets.

He said Asean, the Middle East and Russia were high-potential markets where the government should concentrate more on promoting exports. To boost sales to those countries, he called on the government to cut tariff barriers on both sides, as those economies are considered not only new potential markets, but also sources of raw materials to support industrial growth here.