SET up plants in euro zone, traders urged

They shared this view at a Commerce Ministry seminar on exports, pointing out that it was a good time for Thai manufacturers to invest in the euro area. The stronger baht and the European Union debt crisis have pushed asset prices down.
Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol said export growth in the final quarter of this year would increase to double digits, which would contribute to full-year growth of more than 10 per cent, higher than the official forecast of 7.23 per cent.
“Although the euro-zone economic crisis has affected Thai exports, particularly of luxury goods, spending on normal products and food has not been hit. Thai exporters still have channels to penetrate the EU markets,” Poom said.
He added that current concerns about flooding in some provinces would not affect production or exports.
Duangkamol Jiambutr, executive director of the Thai Trade Office in Frankfurt, Germany, suggested that Thai exporters look for joint-venture partners or employ subcontractors in each target country as the euro currency was quite weak currently, while this would also help reduce the problem of non-tariff barriers.
Many Thai products such as automobile parts, foods, health products and organic foods still have high opportunity to grow in the EU market, especially Germany, which has a strong economy.
Chulit Stavorn, executive director of the Thai Trade Centre in London, said more large Thai enterprises were investing in Britain, which has shown strong economic growth compared with other Europe countries.
The executive director of the Thai Trade Centre in Paris, Pakaisakdi Svastisin, said French consumers showed rising demand for frozen foods, including Thai foods and health foods.
Because of the economic sluggishness in the EU, consumers have changed their behaviour from dining out to cooking at home.