The government is beefing up countertrade on the domestic level to boost income for farmers and promote the local economy.
Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said countertrade is necessary during this crisis because it helps ease limited access to cash.
Countertrade means exchanging goods or services for other goods or services, rather than money.
This type of trade is more common in developing countries and those with limited foreign exchange or credit facilities.
"This is the first time the Commerce Ministry has promoted countertrade at the domestic level, particularly among farmers, with the ministry functioning as the promoter, operator and salesman," Mr Jurin said.
Yesterday he presided over an interprovincial countertrade fair where provincial commerce officers from all provinces partnered with farmers, processors and modern trade operators including Big C, The Mall Group, Central Food Retail, Tesco Lotus, 7-Eleven and Makro.
According to Mr Jurin, the Commerce Ministry is working closely with the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry under a marketing-led production strategy.
Provincial commerce officials, provincial agriculture and cooperatives officials in each province will be assigned to function as provincial sales people to coordinate with the local private sector and farmers to enhance market connectivity and jointly organise countertrade fairs for farmers.
Provincial commerce and agriculture officers are also assigned to function as intermediaries for potential buyers and sellers between regions or provinces, improving interprovincial or inter-regional trade.
These officers should be more active in promoting border trade and work closely with neighbouring countries to promote bilateral border trade, Mr Jurin said.