Thailand is pulling out all the stops at this year’s
Global Village Fair in Dubai, in a bid to lure and attract the show goers to sample its wide array of authentic products that are being showcased at the country’s pavilion.
The move also aims at bolstering bilateral investment and partnership with the UAE, with which it has long enjoyed close relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975. The Southeast Asian country has two diplomatic missions in the Emirates, with the main Royal Thai Embassy located in Abu Dhabi and the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Dubai.
Speaking to Alrroya.com during the official opening of the pavilion, the Chairman of the Thai Business Council (TBC) in the UAE, Chalermpol Hoon, said the close ties has led to the UAE becoming Thailand’s number-one trading partner in the Middle East, with more than $11 billion in bilateral trade volume.
“In addition to the export trade between these countries, Thailand is also the major destination of more than 150,000 tourists from the Emirates each year, who visit the Asian country mainly for cultural or medical tourism,” Chalermpol said.
Thai SMEs generate 3.75 trillion baht for the economy
TBC was officially founded and endorsed by
Dubai Chamber of Commerce since mid of 2011, to act as a commercial bridge for Thailand’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). There are close to three million SMEs in Thailand, making up 99.6 per cent of total businesses and generating over 3.75 trillion baht for the economy.
Chalermpol said the Council, which now boasts over 50 members, has set up a number of special events to promote the country’s small businesses. TBC’s affiliated members include corporate and professionals related to Thai businesses based in UAE, for instance Thai Airways, Thai restaurants, Thai spa ventures, State Oil Company PTT, SCG Chemicals, which is a large conglomerate of construction and petrochemicals in Thailand, and food company, CP.
“We also aim to reach out to SMEs in the UAE, in order to help them establish opportunities and new markets in Thailand,” the Chairman said. TBC also has four honorary members from government sectors including its Embassy in Abu Dhabi, and Consulate office in Dubai, Thai Trade Centre and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
The Southeast Asian country has launched an aggressive marketing campaign aimed at luring tourists back in the country that was recently inundated by flash floods, which kept visitors away and also put a major dent on the country’s export market, especially food and electronic products. Thailand’s tourism authority estimates that due to the floods, the number of foreign visitors declined by up to 600,000, and the tourism industry lost about $800 million.
Floods affect international rice supplies
The United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has already expressed concern about international rice exports, saying that trade in 2012 could fall significantly, driven by lower rice exports from the flood-hit country. Much of international rice supplies come mainly from Thailand and India. In a statement, the agency said that the trade volume next year “could fall to 33.8 million tonnes, from 34.3 million forecast for this year.”
Similarly, just this week the world’s largest chipmaker
Intel issued a warning that its fourth-quarter revenues would miss forecasts because of a shortage of hard disk drives. About one-third of the world’s hard-disk drive production is located in Thailand.
Intel said that severe flooding hit around Thai hard disk drive factories, “which caused collateral damage to the supply of components, and consequently meaning that computer makers are anticipating cuts in production as they are unable to complete PCs.”
According to Thailand’s Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), the gross domestic product (GDP) of SMEs is expected to grow only 1.4-2.5 per cent this year, a significant slide from the earlier forecast of 4-5 per cent because of the devastating floods.
The agency estimates that 550,000 small businesses were affected by floods, adding that 102,000 were in the manufacturing sector, 264,000 in the retail and wholesale sector, 163,000 in the service sector and the rest in construction. It also revealed that direct and indirect damages from the floods for SMEs are estimated at 71.1 billion baht a month, with 2.32 million jobs affected.
“At the moment most of the affected areas in Bangkok and the central region have seen flood waters receding and businesses have returned to normal operations,” Chalermpol said, while assuring visitors the country was now safe to visit.
“In any case, almost all the key tourist destinations and attractions in Thailand, like Phuket and Pattaya, were unaffected by the flooding,” he added.
More than 120 business exhibitors at pavilion
TBC recently organised a fundraising event, where about Dh200,000 was realised and handed to the
Thai Red Cross to help with the flood-relief efforts in Thailand.
The inauguration of Thai pavilion at the Global Village was presided by Consul-General of Royal Thai Consulate-General, HE Pasant Thepruk, and attended by officials from the consulate, members of the Thai Trade Centre led by Acting Director Supaporn Wan-a-loh, Pramoth Supyen Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand, senior management of the Global Village, led by Project Director Saeed Ali Bin Redha, and the organising committee headed by Akawut Tangsilikusolwong.
The pavilion, according to Chalermpol, “has attracted more than 120 business exhibitors from Thailand, showcasing a wide range of products and services.”
Food stalls offering authentic Thai food and fresh fruits, and stalls providing Thai massage and quick spa services have proved a big hit with the showgoers. Other stalls are selling perfumes, clothes, colourful accessories and handbags, jewelleries and home decors. Additionally, the organisers have spiced it up with traditional classical Thai dances, performed every evening within the pavilion grounds.
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