Study finds jewellery, rubber industries most prepared for Asean integration

At a seminar on “Thailand Aims at Being a Hub of Industries in Asean”, Deputy Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said many Thai industries had strong competency to compete in Asean markets, as they had learned to adopt technology and other developments to ensure their competitiveness.

“With fast-changing circumstances in global trading, Thai industries have learned to develop themselves. The government will continue to help enterprises develop in many areas so that they will not be affected [negatively] by the regional integration or other liberalisation pacts,” he said. The study found that to increase industrial efficiency, the development of supply chains and information technology should be focused on. With rising wages, the adoption of machinery should also be developed to reduce operating costs.

The department studied nine industries and found that two – jewellery/ornaments and rubber and its products – were best placed for regional competition. Automobiles and parts, electrical appliances, chemical products, and furniture industries ranked second in terms of ability to compete with their counterparts elsewhere in Asean. Processed foods, computers and electronics, and garment and textiles ranked third.

In a related development, the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department again urged Thai exporters to ship their products to European markets before December 24, as the European Union’s Generalised System of Preferences for their products will be cancelled at the end of the year.

Tikhumporn Natvaratat, deputy director-general of the department, said Thai exporters needed to remember that the year-end GSP deadline coincided with a long holiday period in Europe – December 24 is Christmas Eve, and the celebrations go into the New Year. If they miss the deadline, their products will be subject to higher tariffs, ranging from 2-12 per cent.

Concerned about this, the department held a seminar yesterday to help enterprises adjust to the loss of EU tariff privileges. They were encouraged to learn to rely less on such advantages, which are designed for poorer countries, and look for new markets. 

A TMB study found that Thai products that would become less competitive after losing GSP privileges, because they rely heavily on the EU market, including electrical appliances and electronic goods, garments, ornaments, processed chicken, frozen shrimp, and industrial machinery and parts.