OTOP PRODUCERS, SMES PENETRATE LAOS

       The Industrial Promotion Department and the Otop Thailand Association will lead 100 One Tambon One Product and SME operators to Laos in a bid to promote their products.
       The move is aimed at offsetting shrinking domestic sales.
       Association chairman Sakda Siridechakul yesterday said the operators would promote their products at a Thai-Lao handicraft festival that will run between next Tuesday and September 27.
       "This event will serve as a channel for Thai SMEs and Otop producters to sell their wares internationally. We expect no less than US$600,000 [Bt20.25 million] worth of orders from the event," he said.
       He listed dried seafood, herbal and spa products, souvenirs and garments as potential products for the Lao market.
       "We want to penetrate Laos because its gross domestic product is expected to grow 3.4 per cent this year, thanks to the country's resilience in the face of the global economic crisis.
       Laos will also host the 25th Southeast Asian Games this year, whcih should attract more visitors and give its tourism industry a boost," Sakda said.
       He said Vietnam and Malaysia were already beginning to enter the Lao market, and so Thai operators must act quickly.