Trade promotion joins with China for more Thai export channels

BANGKOK, April 20 (TNA) – Thailand’s Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) has signed an agreement with China’s Giyen Import & Export (Shanghai) to provide more marketing channels of Thai handiwork exports to China.

OSMEP deputy director general Chawan Svasti-xuto said the organisation will promote this cooperation while at the same time will develop and build a network for enterprises at a community level in each province to build local production capability as well as to gather and propose more handiworks to the Chinese company in order that Thai merchandises can be distributed to more marketing channels in China.

Such goods include; for example, clothing products, wickerwork, silverware, and niello.

OSMEP believes at least Bt20 million would be in circulation in the first year of this cooperation of small- and medium-level entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, Giyen managing director Li Yong said the company currently imports pewter handicraft products from Thailand valued at some Bt20 million annually. He said he hoped the  agreement would stimulate more imports to China of other types of Thai handiwork products.

Mr Li said he is unworried about the ongoing political problems in Thailand, for his company has for a long time been doing business with the country, and he hoped all the tensions would end soon. He also said there had never been a problem to trade between the two countries despite the Thai domestic political stalemate.

OSMEP will select merchandise from several Thai entrepreneurs, including Narai Phand and Silpacheep, Thailand’s Support Arts and Crafts International Centre.

According to Mr Chawan, China is Thailand’s biggest world market with its population of more than 1.3 billion. Last year, as China’s economy grew more than 8 per cent, the country was Thailand’s second largest trading partner following the United States.

Moreover, in January and February this year, Thailand exports to China grew around 84.4 per cent, making it Thailand’s most valuable export market, with high growth potential.

The OSMEP deputy director general added the current protests by the anti-government of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) caused a drop in the tourist numbers, affecting also businesses of small and medium enterprises. He said his organisation is now collecting information for further assistance to those impacted from the situation. (TNA)