Thailand's OTOP fair 2012 kicks off

NONTHABURI, December 15 (TNA) - Community-based goods produced under the Thai government's One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) programme are now being displayed at more than 2,500 booths inside the OTOP City 2012:One Decade, One Tambon, One Product Fair, held at the Impact Trade and Exhibition Centre in Muang Thong Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok. The nine-day fair, set from December 15-23, is also organized to commemorate His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 84th birthday anniversary on December 5, 2011 and to celebrate one decade of Thailand’s OTOPs. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra presided over the opening ceremony of the fair Saturday morning, in which Cabinet members from neighbouring Cambodia and Laos and a representative of Kenya also participated. Yingluck said during her opening speech that Thailand's OTOPs have now been well-recognized both domestically and internationally; as sales of the Thai community-based products have exceeded 70 billion baht yearly, about 10 billion baht of which have been earned from shipments to overseas markets. According to the prime minister, the number of Thailand's OTOPs producers has already stood over 30,000 nationwide and the Thai government will keep supporting them to boost their production capacity and to further develop their products' quality. Besides, the International OVOP/OTOP International Seminar 2012 is also organised at the nine-day fair, aimed at further developing Thailand's OTOP goods to meet international standards.(TNA)