Thailand forms four economic panels to boost its competitiveness
The four teams cover the creative and visitor economies, agricultural products and food security, the community economy and SMEs, and international trade over six to 12 months.
- The Thai government has established four new economic working groups to boost the country's competitiveness.
- The panels will focus on four key areas: the creative and visitor economy; agricultural products and food security; the community economy and SMEs; and international trade.
- These groups are tasked with delivering both short-term solutions for urgent issues within 6-12 months and creating long-term structural plans.
- Key objectives include removing regulatory barriers for Thai businesses, modernizing agriculture, strengthening SMEs, and using free trade agreements to open new markets.
Minister of Commerce Suphajee Suthumpun, accompanied by her team, announced the outcome of the Meeting of the Subcommittee on the Development of Trade, Tourism and the Community Economy at Government House at 12.30pm on Monday (August 10, 2026).
She said the panel had begun work on the economic framework under the government’s second policy group, covering trade and services.
Suphajee said the subcommittee had been assigned five areas: quality tourism and wellness, the creative economy, agriculture, retail and wholesale, and international trade.
Its work would not be confined to the existing framework, however, because current economic challenges required short-term solutions alongside long-term structural planning.
The meeting therefore established four working groups to deliver clear results, rather than creating more committees without genuine implementation mechanisms.
They cover the creative economy and visitor economy; agricultural products and food security; the community economy and SMEs; and international trade.
Suphajee said the visitor economy concept would take a broader view than conventional tourism, covering tourists, people coming to study, business visitors and those interested in investing.
The aim was for their presence in Thailand to generate greater economic value through links to culture, experiences, services, secondary cities and the creative economy.
The focus on the community economy and SMEs would be broadened beyond retail and wholesale to reflect their role as a key foundation of the national economy, as SMEs and communities accounted for about 35% of the country’s total income.
Their competitiveness therefore needed to be strengthened while ensuring fair competition, so that smaller operators were not left behind.
Weerasak Kowsurat, chairman of the working group on the creative economy and visitor economy, said the team would make weekly field visits to consult different sectors and identify four or five urgent issues to address within the first six to 12 months, covering both opportunity creation and barrier removal.
Key obstacles included operators working covertly or through nominees and using their advantages to put Thai businesses at a disadvantage, as well as domestic regulations that held Thai operators back.
Unnecessary rules therefore needed to be removed so Thai businesses could move more quickly to compete in global markets.
Kobsak Pootrakool said agriculture needed to shift from traditional production to modern, high-value agriculture, covering the entire chain from upstream production to midstream processing and downstream marketing, particularly when output exceeded market demand.
The SME ecosystem also required changes across the board, from starting a business and applying for licences to expanding operations and entering global markets.
The large number of licensing requirements, including those for hotels and restaurants, created cost burdens that required urgent attention.
Sabeeda Thaised, Minister of Culture, said the ministry would help drive the creative economy and visitor economy by using cultural capital, traditions, art and local identity to create new experiences and deliver tangible increases in income for communities.
On international trade, the meeting agreed that the global environment was changing rapidly, while trade was increasingly linked to geopolitics and new rules.
This would require the use of free trade agreements (FTAs) to open new markets, retain existing ones and rebalance trade, while increasing the role of SMEs in the export structure.
Suphajee said the government would link this work with other economic committees, particularly the committee led by Ekniti Nitithanprapas, to rebalance investment promotion, reduce reliance on imports, increase the use of raw materials and labour, and expand the participation of Thai businesses in production chains.
Overall, the first meeting marked the systematic launch of the government’s economic board, moving from broad priorities to sector-specific working groups with a framework for the first six to 12 months.
The aim was to address immediate problems, remove constraints and lay the foundations for trade, services, agriculture, SMEs and the community economy to compete over the long term.
