ACFTA to boost competitiveness of Thai products

BANGKOK, June 4 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Commerce, has promoted and supported the country's business operators, especially those running small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to more resort to the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) in order to enhance the competitiveness of Thai goods on the world market. Auramon Supthaweethum, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Trade Negotiations, told journalists of the policy on June 3, acknowledging that Thai farm and processed farm products have been popular and recognized for their high quality among Chinese consumers. Auramon stressed that her department has, thus, paid attention to promoting and supporting Thai business operators, particularly those running SMEs, to expand their utilization of the ACFTA in order to further enhance the competitiveness of Thai goods, especially farms and processed farm products, on the world market. "Bilateral trade on farm and processed farm products between Thailand and China has kept growing despite the ongoing trade war between China and the United States, thanks to the high quality of the Thai products that meet the demand of Chinese consumers, in terms of their tastes and packaging designs", Auramon revealed. According to the senior official, Thailand and China have reciprocally eliminated import tariffs to zero per cent of more than 90 per cent of products shipped from the other side under the ACFTA, which has been implemented since 2005, resulting in the increasing utilization of the ACFTA by both sides and bilateral trade. The senior official stated that China is now Thailand's largest trading partner, with two-way trade of both sides exceeding 79 billion US dollars in 2018, or a 7.8 per cent year-on-year increase, and Thai business operators resorting to trade privileges under the ACFTA rising to 88.57 per cent in the same year, a 24.74 per cent year-on-year increase. (TNA)