Dept in all-out push toward export target
THE INTERNATIONAL Trade Promotion Department will launch more than 200 activities to promote Thai goods overseas throughout the remainder of the year, amid many worrying signs for exporters.
Srirat Rastapana, director-general of the department, said Commerce Minister Niwatthumrong Boonsongpaisan would next month meet with 62 overseas-based Thai trade counsellors to assess the global situation and devise ways to promote export growth.
Despite the many areas of concern – mainly slowing global economic growth and rising non-tariff barriers – the ministry will maintain an overall export-growth target for this year of 7-7.5 per cent, with total exports worth between Bt245 billion and Bt246 billion, Srirat said.
“The ministry will not yet lower the export target, as it is considered a working target. Although many economic agencies have forecast that Thai shipments this year will miss the target, the department will engage in more activities to promote export growth in a bid to meet it,” she said.
Activities to be launched between this month and December include 12 “Thailand Week” roadshows in six countries, focusing on emerging markets. The department will launch 40 trade missions featuring “door-knock” activities to high-purchasing markets, lead overseas buyers to visit Thailand, and escort leading global importers to join Thailand’s international trade fairs.
The department will organise meetings with trading firms’ regional headquarters, and with multinational companies, to stimulate purchase orders.
It will support the establishment of Thailand Business and Sourcing Centres in target markets such as Poland, Tanzania, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The department will continue to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises by allocating a budget worth Bt300 million to help them develop their businesses and become exporters.
To support online traders, the department has also created www.thaitrade.com. The department seeks to increase the numbers of firms trading online from 7,000 to 15,000 by the end of this year.
A total of 50 countries will be targeted in the export campaign, emphasising Asean; the Asean+6 countries – China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand – and emerging countries in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.
