Bangkok: The Ministry of Commerce has launched the 'Upgrading SMEs to Penetrate the FTA Market' project, providing intensive training to Future Food SMEs to expand exports to the Japanese market, using the benefits of the FTA. The project is preparing to take entrepreneurs to explore the modern trade market and match businesses with business partners in Tokyo this July.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Ekkachat Sittawarat, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, presided over the opening of the 'Upgrading SME Entrepreneurs to Enter the FTA Market' project organized by the Department of International Trade Negotiations. He revealed that the Ministry of Commerce has a policy to promote, develop, and enhance the capabilities of SME entrepreneurs to be ready for competition. The goal is to accelerate the promotion of SME businesses to have an economic value of 40 percent of GDP by 2027. Since SME businesses are an important mechanism for driving Thailand's economic and trade, the Department of International Trade Negotiations has been assigned to implement a project to promote the potential of SME entrepreneurs who produce 4 types of Future Food products: functional foods, novel foods, medical foods, and organic foods, to develop into exporters to the Japanese market by taking advantage of 3 FTAs: Thailand-Japan, ASEAN-Japan, and RCEP, in which Japan has exempt ed or reduced import tariffs for Thai products to the minimum, thus reducing costs for entrepreneurs to be able to compete.
The project 'Upgrading SMEs to Enter the FTA Market' has 155 interested applicants, and 20 passed the first round of selection. Selected products include egg white noodles, Chinese celery tea, chocolate granola, crispy tofu, crispy soy protein, crispy rice snacks mixed with crickets, Lanna black rice granola, rice from fish and seaweed, etc.
The selected applicants will join the Boot Camp workshop, which will be held from June 26-28, 2025 in Nakhon Pathom Province. The final 10 selected applicants will join the trip to explore market potential and match business with Japanese importers in Tokyo, Japan in July 2025.
'The Ministry of Commerce is confident that the project 'Upgrading SMEs to Enter the FTA Market' of the Department of International Trade Negotiations can create product prominence, which will be another mechanism to help Future Food entrepreneurs, including food, beverages, and snacks, as well as other products, armed with 14 FTAs ??that are in effect, covering 18 member countries, and another 3 signed, covering 6 member countries, expanding the export of Thai branded products to the Japanese market and the world market,' said Mr. Ekkachat.