Thailand plans to organise a sourcing forum for leading Chinese and Indian e-commerce platform providers, foreign department stores and Thai exporters to help cushion exports from the ongoing US-China trade row.
Chutima Bunyapraphasara, the acting commerce minister, said the forum will take place on Feb 26, with 500 Thai exporters and worldwide buyers from Asean, China, India, Africa, the Middle East and Europe participating.
The ministry is hopeful that business matching at the forum will result in underlined trade ties for online and leading superstores, with targeted trading partners, especially China and India.
Target items include food and organic farm products, daily consumption products, educational institutions, restaurant franchises and eco-friendly products.
The ministry expects the sourcing forum to raise 2 billion baht worth of purchase orders this year.
In a bid to maintain export momentum among uncontrollable factors such as the US-China trade spat, the International Trade Promotion Department plans to seek new market channels such as modern trade and online platforms in line with the changing behaviour of younger consumers who like convenience and quick service, said department director-general Banjongjitt Angsusingh.
Key players in modern trade expected to participate in the forum include Dashang Department Store, Hangzhou Lianhua, 759 Store, Reliance Retail, Future Retail, Anokhi, Makro and Big C.
Online platform providers will include Alibaba, Herma Fresh, PayTM, JD and NYKAA, the biggest online beauty platform in India.
Pimchanok Vonkorporn, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office under the Commerce Ministry, said the office studied trade opportunities in 10 provinces and main cities in China accounting for 84.2% of Chinese import volume: Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Zhejiang, Beijing, Henan, Tianjin, Fujian and Sichuan.
The study found imports into the 10 areas represented up to 91.3% of imports from Thailand during 2015-17.
Those 10 imported US$35.8 billion worth of goods from Thailand.
The study also revealed Thailand's exports to those 10 provinces and cities remained below their full capacity.
Shanghai is Thailand's biggest marketplace in China, followed by Guangdong, Shandong and Jiangsu.
Major products include rice, chilled and frozen chicken, tapioca, and rubber and rubber products.
According to the office, Thai imports into Shanghai during 2015-17 averaged $11.3 billion a year, followed by Guangdong ($10.7 billion), Shandong ($4.85 billion) and Jiangsu ($4.79 billion).
Ms Pimchanok said the 10 provinces and cities in China have similar characteristics and policies on economic development, such as decentralisation, expansion of transport links both domestically and abroad, promotion of transport hubs for online sales, rich natural resources, high income per capita and high population density.
The online platform will focus on cross-border e-commerce in Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Zhengzhou and Guangzhou.
The Commerce Ministry aims to raise the export volume to China to $100 billion by 2027 from $28-39 billion a year now, with a focus on high-potential provinces and cities such as Guangdong, Shanghai and Shandong.