Thailand to use more locally-produced auto parts

BANGKOK, March 14 (TNA) - Thailand has targeted to use more locally-produced automobile parts and to further boost exports of Thai auto-parts, especially those produced by local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thai Permanent Secretary for Industry Witoon Simachokedee acknowledged that his ministry has targeted to increase the use of locally-produced auto parts from 40 per cent currently to 50 per cent in the foreseeable future. Witoon said that his ministry also plans to earn the country up to one trillion baht annually, from 800 billion baht currently, from SMEs' auto parts exports. The Thai Cabinet has, meanwhile, approved some eight billion baht for the setting up of the Automotive Institute to conduct tests of auto parts and vehicles sold on an independent auto import market, known as the "grey market", where safety standards need to be checked. Setsuo Iuchi, President of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in Bangkok noted that Thailand had the capacity to produce some two million cars last year and can produce up to three million cars in 2017. The JETRO chief cautioned, however, that Thailand still lacks skilled workers and the government’s 300-baht daily minimum wage policy could cause greater labour competition in Asia, suggesting that Thailand, thus, urgently upgrade skills of local workers, in line with existing cooperation between Thailand and Japan under a joint project on improving skills of personnel in the Thai auto industry from 2011-2020 to promote Thailand as a world hub of automobile production in the long run. (TNA)