Thailand's OTOP Selects, Best OTOP 77 Experience to be promoted globally

BANGKOK,June 14 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Commerce is promoting on the world market some 2,000 outstanding items of the country's community-based products under the government-supported One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) Program. Banjongjit Angsusingh, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Business Development, told journalists of the move on Wednesday, saying that her department has, thus,invited more than 30 modern traders, including department stores, supermarkets, convenient stores, wholesale and retailer stores, as well as representatives from government agencies to become members of an official panel to select more than 2,000 items of 3-5-star Thai OTOP produced from across the country to become "OTOP Selects" and "Best OTOP 77 Experience", which are identity community products of each Thai province. Banjongjit revealed that the over 2,000 selected Thai-wisdom-borne OTOP items will then be promoted and upgraded to be impressive, competitive value-added Thai OTOP premiums offered to world consumers. To achieve the end-goal for the selected Thai OTOP items, the senior official notified that her ministry will assist local producers of the selected Thai OTOP items to access to business talks and contracts with international distributors and business operators that will promote the quality Thai community products on expanding global channels. The senior official noted that the selected Thai OTOP items will be promoted to become not only "never miss, must buy" products, but also value-added ones with their sale values reaching 100 billion baht, as targeted by the Thai government. Meanwhile, an ongoing activity to select the Thai OTOP items is held at the head office of the Thai Ministry of Commerce in Bangkok's neighboring Nonthaburi Province. The Ministry of Interior reported that there have been nearly 50,000 legally-registered Thai OTOP producers who produce more than 98,000 OTOP items, mostly are souvenirs and decorative products and food. (TNA)