THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

New scheme aims to give businesses in Deep South a boost

New scheme aims to give businesses in Deep South a boost

EDIBLE bird’s nests (swiftlet solidified saliva) and para-rubber have been chosen for development as premium goods for the Southern border provinces.

The project, which started last October and is slated to conclude on September 30, is promoting the creation of brands, adding value to products, and penetrating foreign markets in order to make use of local resources to sustainably create incomes for communities, according to Hudson Sirisuwapong, director of the scheme’s adviser, the Creative Lab Centre (CLC) at Thaksin University.
Speaking at the scheme’s official launch in Narathiwat on Wednesday, Hudson said: “Edible bird’s nests and para-rubber were selected from 776 entrepreneurs from the five Southern border provinces due to world market trends, the local resource potential and the given time frame. These two products could be further developed into goods that would cater for demand in an ageing society, environmental friendliness and energy conservation as well as the vocational promotion in communities.” 
For ageing societies, he said they could include health and beauty products and biodegradable processed products that reduced garbage and saved energy. 
He said another reason to select para-rubber was the desire to support the government’s policy on increasing para-rubber use and creating added value to the product. The Southern region is the country’s major producer of para-rubber.
Narathiwat Governor Sitthichai Sakda praised this collaboration between the CLC and the Narathiwat Industry Office to design and creatively develop local products.
Sitthichai said that he hoped the project’s planned success would serve as an example for the public and private sectors in the vocational promotion of communities’ |stability, prosperity and sustainability. 
Narathiwat’s chief Industry Ministry official, Pokpak Boonchu, said that the project was the result of various bodies cooperating including the Office of Strategy Management for Southern Border Provincial Cluster, which provided Bt9 million, investors and local entrepreneurs. 
He said that the seminar at the launch was held to provide information on the project to related agencies, officials and the media.
 
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