Thai textile, jewellery and leather sectors to mount joint export drive
The Thai finance minister Somkid Jatusripitak announced earlier this week that the associations representing the textiles and garments, jewellery, and leather product industries will join forces to develop an international marketing strategy.
After meeting with representatives of the associations, Somkid said the industries would combine their overseas promotional efforts so as to compete more effectively in the international marketplace. The three industries collectively employ around 1.2 million workers and have a combined export volume of around 200 billion baht a year.
Speaking to the national press, Thailand's association of garments president Suchart Jantranakarat said his association already had a three-year development plan in place that would cost over three billion baht to implement. "Of that amount, 2.7 billion baht will come from the state, while another 1 billion baht will come from the private sector," he said.
Somkid said the government would provide some financial support for the three sectors, but that the new committee would have to come up with an expenditure plan first.
