Preliminary assessments have determined that the situation in Israel would not impact Thailand’s exports, as the trade value between Thailand and Israel was not large. Nonetheless, the government has ordered the situation in Thailand’s key trading partners to be closely followed.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Phumtham Wechayachai visited the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) to deliver his policies. An urgent matter assigned to the department was the tracking of the problem in Israel. Despite assessments deeming that the Israel-Gaza situation would not impact Thai exports, due to the limited Thai-Israeli trade value, DITP officials were told to be mindful of impacts that may occur worldwide. This would be especially true for Thailand’s key trading partner countries, with the monitoring expected to help in producing response plans in a timely manner when they are needed.
The DITP will proceed as planned with export promotion during the remainder of the year, with 73 relevant activities scheduled to be held both in Thailand and abroad. These export promotion activities are expected to help add 12.4 billion baht to the export value this year.
The commerce minister revealed that in early November, he will lead a delegation of public and private sector representatives to China International Import Expo (CIIE 2023) in Shanghai. Thai products will be exhibited at the expo and no less than 60-70 million baht is expected to be generated from these exhibits. Phumtham indicated the Ministry of Commerce will proceed with a policy to foster strategic partnerships at the city level, and emphasis will be placed on cities in China’s key provinces.
Furthermore, the minister has assigned the DITP to develop Thai businesses’ capacities to export, on top of seeking out businesses to participate in export promotion programs. (NNT)