BANGKOK, Jan 7 – Retail mega stores in Thailand have been requested to promote the sale and distribution of products from rural producers nationwide, Deputy Commerce Minister Nattawut Saikua said.
He said the move was to help grassroots and smaller-scale manufacturers at provincial, community and cooperatives levels.
The Commerce Ministry recently held talks with the management of major retail chains such as Tops, Macro and Big C, he said, adding the Internal Trade Department was instructed to plan promotions with retail operators and assist local manufacturers in production to respond to market demand.
He said the scheme should be launched by the first quarter of 2014 while the Commerce Ministry will be the centre in collecting products from more than 10 million rural and cooperatives manufacturers throughout the country to be supplied to retail chains.
The scheme will boost the revenue of cooperatives and stimulate the economy in the long run, Mr Nattawut said.
