Bangkok--26 Aug--The Department of Export Promotion
The Department of Export Promotion, Ministry of Commerce continues to boost exporter’s confidence through the PM Export Award 2009 honouring 34 outstanding exporters with 40 prestigious awards. The award aims to maintain the continuous growth of Thai exports, increase recognition of Thai products and brands to be able to compete confidently in the global market, and improve the quality and design of Thai goods and services to better suit the market needs, thus, resulting in Thailand’s export growth and continued recovery.
The Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiwa said he was delighted to have been honoured to present “PM Export Award 2009” - a prominent award which truly boosts pride and confidence of the winners. He added that the award also inspired all exporters and service providers to continuously endeavour to maximise their competitive potential. Since the world economy has been slowing down and the global market has become fiercely competitive, close collaboration between the government and private sectors is crucial in order to move Thai export and service sectors forward and become more successful in the global market. “Moreover, the award also plays an important role in encouraging and guiding Thai exporters and service providers in the right direction”. The Prime Minister also stated.
As the government’s stimulus packages have been continually implemented whether it be the monetary policies such as lowering of interest rate and support for financial institutions or the fiscal policy through government spending such as increasing midyear budget for 2009 and the bill to borrow 400 billion baht to boost the economy through the Strong Thailand 2012 programme, these measures, will soon take effect. Thus, it is expected that the Thai economy will expand and the export industry will pick up also”, said the Prime Minister.
“The export stimulus package undertaken by the Ministry of Commerce recently delivered a satisfactory outcome as the importance of brand building has been recognized by the private sector. This is an effective offensive marketing strategy ideal for the new economic system and is in line with our ‘Creative Thailand Programme’. This strategy will strengthen our competitive potential and create more added value for our products and services. Through this approach, I believe, there will be more exporters and service providers qualified for this prominent awards in the future.” The Prime Minister concluded.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Porntiva Nakasai, Minister of Commerce, said the honouring and award presenting ceremony for outstanding exporters of products and services or Prime Minister’s Export Award has been held annually for 18 years and consists of five awards categories including 1. Best Exporter, 2. Thai-Owned Brand, 3. Design Excellence Award (DEmark), 4. Best Service Provider, and 5. OTOP Export Recognition.
“This year the Ministry of Commerce gave more importance to the improvement of all the selection and qualification criteria to raise the standard of Thai products and services to be more recognised in the global market. This was done through appointment of honourable committee members which included renowned and experienced persons from all related fields, both from government and private sectors, in order to upgrade the award criteria and to select the best, most suitable winners. The committee had to analyse all aspects of business undertaking such as the development of products and services to be more competitive, the up-to-date brand and image building yet based on unique Thai traits, and corporate governance along with corporate social responsibility also had to be considered.” The Minister of Commerce added.
These measures, therefore, have led to winners from a variety of industries ranging from small to large enterprises and also consumer goods producers. This is a good sign reflecting the importance paid, by the private sector, towards improvement, to be more competitive in the global market and good product design and quality needed to expand exports to new markets. Thus, there is no doubt that the success from this award will inspire more exporters and service providers, who endeavour to be successful in the global stage, to be aware of product development and building their own Thai brands in order to add more value to their products and services.
“At the same time, the Ministry of Commerce has also implemented a number of measures to continually stimulate the export industries, and many of them delivered successful results. Moreover, the proactive marketing measures in search of new markets is still being executed along with other supporting measures. Although in the first 6 months of this year the overall export revenue was USD 68,207.1 million down by 23.5%, it is believed that Thailand’s overall export will decrease only 10% compared to last year, whilst it had been expected to be down by 20% earlier. This resulted from the increasing amount of orders coming in due to the slow but constant upturn of the economy in the main exporting markets along with the decreasing stock of importers. These factors together with the supportive effect from the demand for goods from China, India, and Vietnam led to the increasing demand for industrial and agricultural goods from Thailand. Thus, it can be assured that Thailand’s expo rt revenue will grow 12 — 15 % next year” concluded the Ministry of Commerce.
The PM Export Award 2009 sees 34 companies honoured with 40 awards. During the 18 years the award has been organised, there have been over 304 winners with a total of 372 awards handed out. The award winners will be provided a number of privileges from the Department of Export Promotion such as: priority selection to join the Department’s activities; exposures and public relation in PM Export Award Directory, the Exporters’ Journal, and other media both local and international; privilege in using ‘Thailand’s Brand’; and global promotion of their brand to the world’s market.
For further information, contact:
Khun Naiyana Youngkerd Tel. 081-903-1331
e-mail : [email protected]
Khun Phanraphee Surinrat Tel. 081-921-1511
e-mail : [email protected]