After leading Thai delegations on missions to Kenya and Mozambique from July 10-16, Chutima Bunyapraphasara, permanent secretary of the Commerce Ministry, said Thailand could form closer cooperation with the two African nations in many sectors.

“Thailand and Kenya agreed to set up a joint committee on trade and investment to support cooperation between the two nations,” she said, adding that Thailand would like to export more rice to that country.

Primarily, however, Thailand has asked Kenya to allow the Thai Overseas Fisheries Association to negotiate on behalf of the Thai fishery industry for permission to ply Kenya’s coastal areas, as they are rich in seafood resources.

Fishery products that Thailand is highly interested in importing from Kenya are lobster, fish, crayfish and crab.

Under the “Kenya Vision 2030” scheme, the African country’s government has urged Thai investors to expand their interests there, particularly in the agricultural sector and crop processing. Nairobi aims to increase the country’s competitiveness in agro-industry and other sectors in order to become a middle-income nation.

Kenya also would like to learn from Thailand’s experience in agriculture and agro-industry, tourism, and infrastructure development.

Agro-industries in which there is high potential for Thai investors in Kenya are maize, sugar cane, feed meal and fertiliser.

To celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Thailand will hold a trade fair in Kenya in 2017. The Thai government has also encouraged Kenyan enterprises to visit the “Thailand Tractors and Agricultural Machinery Show” from December 4-13 this year, and the “Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair” from September 7-11.

Meanwhile, Mozambique has shown strong interest in importing 300,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand. The terms of payment still need to be discussed, while Thailand would like to invest in various sectors in Mozambique. Potential sectors for Thai investors are agriculture, fishery, energy, mining, construction, and tourism.

After the two countries’ first Joint Trade Commission, Thailand has encouraged Mozambique to import many products from the Kingdom, including rice, processed food, cosmetics, medicines, supplements, fertiliser and agricultural equipment.

Thai private enterprises from four key industries – food, energy, utilities and tourism – will also visit the “Maputo International Fair” from August 28 to September 4.

The World Bank expects overall African gross domestic product to grow by 3.3 per cent this year. The continent has a combined population of 1.1 billion, 14.72 per cent of the global total.

After chairing a meeting with officials from the Commerce Ministry, Somkid said that Thailand needed to deepen cooperation with key trade partners by focusing on strategic partnerships after facing delays and other obstructions with its ongoing free-trade-agreement negotiations.

The priority countries that Thailand aims to forge strategic partnerships with are India, China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Under the move, Thailand aims to sign agreements with partner countries related to certain sectors that develop the sectors for both sides.

Somkid said that Thailand and China could sign a partnership for digital and hi-tech industries, Thailand and India could ink q deal for services, professional services, and IT and the Kingdom and Myanmar could partner on infrastructure development.

“The strategic partnerships will become a new platform for trade-negotiation strategies for the country as it could in the short run focus on key industries, while Thailand will continue to conduct [negotiations for] free-trade agreements parallel to it as the FTAs are quite complicated and take a longer time,” Somkid said.

He said the country adjusting its international trade policy would service its industry 4.0 model which focused on hi-technology industries and was designed to promote trade growth with partner countries.

Somkid also encouraged the Commerce Ministry’s Business Development Department and the Intellectual Property Department to support new entrepreneurs and startup enterprises while commercialising intellectual property to help drive business growth.

With lingering concerns about the health of the domestic economy, the ministry has been ordered to maintain its cost-of-living controls.

Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the ministry planned to follow up bilateral negotiations with Japan, India, Iran, and Oman.

To help promote trade growth, the ministry will focus its negotiation on trying to solve non-tariff barriers.

Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said yesterday that the two neighbouring countries would strengthen ties in trade, investment and other forms of cooperation.

The proposals for enhanced cooperation will be discussed during the seventh meeting of the JTC, to be held in Nay Pyi Taw for two days beginning tomorrow. Apiradi will lead the Thai delegation, while Myanmar’s trade minister will chair the meeting.

The trade goal was set after the recent meeting between Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

At the JTC meeting, the ministers will discuss cooperation on Mae Sot-Myawaddy border trade and the setting up of a CLMVT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand) Business Council led by the private sector to solve trade-related problems.

Under the JTC, Thailand and Myanmar will also support the use of local currencies in special economic zones (SEZs) and other areas, while seeking ways to facilitate investment from both countries.

Moreover, Thailand will encourage a bilateral agreement on Thailand-Myanmar transport to facilitate logistics growth between the two sides, as well as support the upgrading of border checkpoints.

The JTC will also discuss tourism promotion, transportation for two countries people, support for the Dawei SEZ project, job creation for Myanmar nationals, and promoting Thai and Myanmar woven fabrics.

According to Commerce Ministry data, Myanmar is Thailand’s eight-largest trading partner in Asean, and its 15th-largest globally.

During the past five years, bilateral trade has been worth $7.37 billion on average. In 2015, trade was valued $7.74 billion (Bt272 billion), with exports from Thailand worth $4.17 billion. Border trade accounted for 80 per cent or $6.23 billion.

Meanwhile, the government will also aim to strengthen trade with Kenya and Mozambique during a mission by Commerce Ministry permanent secretary Chutima Bunyapraphasara to the two African nations from July 9 to 18.

Chutima said she would lead Thai delegations for the first senior official Thailand-Mozambique JTC in Maputo on July 14. During the meeting, the two nations will discuss the purchase of rice by Mozambique from the Thai government.

Thailand will also discuss cooperation in the jewellery industry, fishery concessions, and financial issues for promoting economic cooperation and trade in agriculture, tourism and energy.

Chutima said Mozambique could be a good source of raw materials for Thailand’s jewellery industry, while Thailand could supply many products to Mozambique. These included food and processed agricultural goods, seasoning, medicines and supplements, cosmetics, and agricultural machinery.

Moreover, Thai investors could help Mozambique develop its infrastructure and utilities system. Other potential investments for Thailand are in fishery and fish farming, fertiliser, furniture and processed wood, construction, and alternative energy.

Chantira Jimreivat Vivatrat, deputy director-general of the International Trade Promotion Department, said the department would promote businesses such as spas, hospitals and cosmetic surgery as it foresees a good opportunity to raise related revenues.

She said Thailand could be promoted as a healthcare and wellness service centre, as those businesses have been well accepted by foreigners.

According to the Commerce Ministry, exports for the service sector are worth US$53 billion (Bt1.9 trillion) a year. The government expects that export revenues from the service sector will grow beyond $55 billion this year.

Under the service-business promotion plan, the department will focus on developed markets and specific target groups such as the elderly and younger people who are greatly concerned about health and beauty.

Lalida Jivanuntapravat, director of the department’s Service Trade and Logistics Office, said that on a visit to South Korea to learn about its cosmetics industry, people there suggested Thailand could become a centre for healthcare and beauty in Asean. The South Korean government foresees Thailand as having good potential to produce goods and services to serve the beauty industry, Lalida said.

She said that to promote the growth of the sector, the department would soon invite traders and buyers from overseas for a field trip to Thai plants and a trade fair related to beauty and healthcare.

She said the department would also create a story for each product as a strategy to increase their values.

“If Chinese companies that obtain a licence to do sorting of Thai fruit for export to China, or have facilities for Thai fruit inside Thailand for export, but they buy Thai fruit and resell it on the Thai market, this is illegal and violates the Foreign Business Act BE 2542,” said the department’s director-general, Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa.

According to the act, they could face a fine of between Bt100,000 and Bt1 million, and/or a prison sentence of three years.

She added that Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and China’s Agriculture Ministry had an agreement whereby Chinese companies can operate sorting facilities to buy and package Thai fruit for export to China under the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standard. The fruit that does not meet GMP standards cannot be exported but also cannot be resold on the domestic Thai fruit market.

“The problem now is that when Chinese companies that buy Thai fruit have some that is lower than the GMP standard after the sorting process, they do not want to waste it, so they decide to resell it on the Thai market. But this violates the Foreign Business Act,” she said.

Lower-standard produce

The department plans to investigate and solve this problem.

Meanwhile, the department and the Justice Ministry are studying how to formulate a standard contract to solve the problem of Chinese fruit buyers with lower-standard fruit. This will help both parties, buyers and sellers, conduct fair business. China is not the only country to have fruit-sorting facilities in Thailand, as Japan, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam also do this business here, Wiboonlasana said.

A standard contract will be used for all of the countries doing business in Thailand, she said.

Their trip precedes Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s official visit to Russia in May this year.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry will negotiate with Russia’s ministry of industry and trade to set up business partnerships promoting bilateral investment and trade. They also will collaborate on agricultural products especially rubber and rice, Commerce Minister Apiradee Tantraporn, who will be joining the delegation.

In Belarus, they will meet the deputy prime minister for the economy, the president of the country’s petrochemical committee, and its rubber firms to negotiate about trade partnerships between the two countries, she said.

Apiradee added that up to 37 Thai corporates will join the delegation to take part in a business-matching event.

They include agriculture and food-processing business, medical equipment, construction raw materials, auto parts, garments, and hospitality business. “Up to 40 Russian firms have also agreed to join this event,” she said.

Somkid will chair an event bringing together 10 Thai and Russian corporates under the concept “One-on-One”, as well as a Thai-Russian Business Round Table. Both events would explore opportunities to expand trade and investment, she said.

Bilateral trade was worth Bt70.65 billion at the end of 2015, a 50-per-cent decline year-on-year because of the depreciation of the ruble. Bilateral trade value with Belarus recorded Bt2.51 billion at the end of 2015, up 7 per cent year-on-year.