Products of Thai SMEs to be sold in AEC

BANGKOK, October 4 (TNA) - Products of Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including those produced under the government-backed One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) Program, will be soon sold in neighboring countries in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Five departments under the Thai Ministry of Commerce, including the Department of Business Development, the Department of Foreign Trade, the Department of Internal Trade, the Department of Intellectual Property and the Department of International Trade Promotion, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Big C Supercenter Public Company Limited (Big C), aimed to jointly expand trading channels for operators of Thai SMEs widely. Big C Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President Asawin Techacharoenwikun told journalists on October 3 that under the MOU, products of Thai SMEs, covering those of OTOP and geographical indication (GI) items, are allowed to be sold at over 700 branches of Big C nationwide and even in neighboring Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia and Vietnam in AEC without any entrance fee. Initially, Asawin said, Big C will work together with the five government departments to launch public relations (PR) campaigns to invite operators of Thai SMEs for six categories of products, including fresh food, consumer goods, cloths and household decoration items, as well as those of start-ups and rented spaces at local department stores, to join the project. According to the Big C top executive, more than 1,000 Thai SMEs are expected to join the project. Meanwhile, executives of the Ministry of Commerce and Big C jointly opened the "Big C Big Success, Thai Businesses Go Together", set to be held at Big C Rangsit 2 Branch during October 3-5, in which Thai SMEs are welcome to participate to sell their products with lower costs. (TNA)