FTI urges more govt contracts for ‘Made in Thailand’ SMEs
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has urged the government to favour Thai manufacturers in purchases made with the 1.3 trillion baht national budget.
FTI chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree said businesses manufacturing Made in Thailand (MiT) products would benefit from the government’s purchasing power at a time when the public’s purchasing power had dropped sharply due to Covid-19.
Only the government procurement market has enough purchasing power to support businesses – especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – through difficult conditions, he added.
The FTI has registered over 2,000 MiT producers in the past six months.
Meanwhile, more than 52 per cent of MiT producers, from large corporates to SMEs, are expected to contract with the government to deliver products worth over 68 billion baht this year.
By the end of the year, more than 5,000 businesses are expected to register more than 50,000 MiT products.
The top five registered products are construction equipment, followed by electrical and electronic products, air conditioners, medical products and equipment, and textiles.
In addition to the domestic market, the FTI is also working with the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) to create foreign business opportunities for Thai SMEs in Bahrain, India and China, where Thai products are already known.
Certifying products as Made in Thailand offers a competitive advantage and creates more trust and confidence in partners, said the FTI.
