Govt to work on SME export contribution

 THE INTERNATIONAL Trade Promotion Department will focus its efforts this year on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) after finding that only 20 per cent of the country’s export value is contributed by SMEs.
At an upcoming meeting of overseas Thai trade representatives with Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, plans to promote exports from SMEs will be among the priority issues up for discussion.
Malee Choklumlerd, director-general of the department, said it had found that about 70-80 per cent of Thai export value was attributed to large enterprises and multinational companies.
“Of the total Thai export value of US$215 billion [last year], about $21 billion or 20 per cent was contributed by SMEs. This amount is quite small, as SMEs account for 98 per cent of total businesses. Their export proportion should be increased,” she said.
To drive the growth of exports by SMEs, the department will work closely with Thai trade representatives and private organisations in drafting plans to increase their export proportion. 
It will also encourage large enterprises to support SMEs in international trading and penetrating potential markets, starting with Asean including the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) countries. 
Moreover, during the meeting with 66 Thai trade officials from overseas posts meeting, the Commerce Ministry will formulate plans for trade missions to target markets. Some of the missions will be led by Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn. 
Some of the countries likely to be visited in the near future are Oman, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the Philippines and Cambodia.
The ministry has already carried out trade missions to many markets such as China, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Iran, India and Myanmar.
At the meeting, trade officials and private-sector representatives will also brainstorm on how to drive export growth to each market.
Other items on the agenda will be US President Donald Trump’s trade policies, the impact of the United Kingdom’s planned exit from the European Union, which expected to be effective in two years, and non-tariff barriers imposed by many countries.