Exporters look to megatrends

The Commerce Ministry vows to rev up export promotion for products related to global megatrends particularly in the bio-, circular and green (BCG) economy category which would raise income for farmers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs.

Malika Boonmeetrakool Mahasook, adviser to the Commerce Minister, said amid the Covid-19 pandemic Thailand's export promotions would shift towards virtual trade exhibitions and online business matching, with the focus on food and agriculture, automobiles, electronics and products related to megatrends like BCG.

According to Mrs Malika, BCG products that need export promotion include lifestyle products developed from agricultural waste or high-quality industrial waste; processed food and processed agricultural products as well as non-food products with environmentally-friendly packaging.

In addition, she said international trade promotion should focus on four categories of future food comprising functional food; novel food; medical food; and organic food to cater to varying demands among global consumers particularly in the US, China, Japan and Australia.

In a related development, the international trade promotion fund management committee chaired by Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit yesterday approved a 613-million-baht budget to promote exports in fiscal 2022, which starts on Oct 1, down from about 1 billion baht allocated for the current fiscal year ending Sept 30.