Jurin to launch 10-point plan to drive economic growth

The measures include an agricultural products price guarantee programme, investigations to ensure that prices of products and service price are fair, a boost in the country’s exports, and speeding up all trade negotiations now underway.
“Palm oil will be the first agriculture product, to be discussed today (August 7) between representatives of the government, private sector and farmers. The discussions will include the price and a way to guarantee palm oil prices, and we will then propose the plan to Thailand Palm Oil Board to consider before we make a proposal to the cabinet approve in the next step,” Jurin told a Wednesday press conference.
He added that a price guarantee for agricultural products will focus on five economic crops – palm oil, rice, rubber, corn and cassava. After the palm oil meeting today, Friday (August 9) will see a meeting between all parties to discuss rubber products, including representatives of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, private sector and farmers.
“We cannot now discuss the budget to guarantee a price programme for agricultural products – that will depend on the discussion,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ministry will continue to manage and investigate the prices of products in the market, to ensure a fair price is offered for both products and services for producers and consumers.
Boosting the country’s export is also a top first priority in order to boost the country’s economy through speeding up exports for both products and services.
“We will expand the country’s exports to the countries we now export to, open new export markets, improve our export to countries that are now non-active countries for our export products, and also improve border trade with neighbouring countries,” he said.
However, he did not say whether the ministry will revise the country’s export growth or in a  period when the baht is appreciating against the US Dollar and Yuan.
“We will be meeting with all of the relate parties about the export problem, such as Thai National Shippers’ Council, Board of Trade of Thailand, and so on, on August 14. Then we will know if we can revise our export target or not. However, at this time we will maintain our export target at 3 per cent,” he said.
The minister has continued efforts to speed up all trade negotiations aiming for a completion by the end of this year, including free-trade agreement with Turkey, EU, UK, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Asean plus six, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Next in the six strategies of the ministry is the continued improvement of the E-filing system, aimed to improve the ministry’s services for all of parties who have contracts with the ministry.
The next action is to accelerate the registration of intellectual property and Geographical Indications both domestically and overseas. This will improve the value added to products and services that are owned by Thai people.
Another priority is to drive the country toward a modern economy through advances in digital, innovation, bio-technology among others, to support the country’s startups, OTOP products, and franchise business so that they are able to boost the country’s economy, he said.
The ministry also plans to develop the country’s smart traditional retail shop by supporting all traditional retail shop to improve their shop design and systems in order to advance their business together with the ministry’s Blue Flag shop concept.
“We will set up a master plan for how many shop we want to develop by the end of this year and the next year. This will help lower-income people to have a business and also support traditional shops in the communities to compete with modern trade in the market,” he said.
Next is to promote and improve the country’s service sector standards, including for restaurants, spas, movies and ageing business.
In order to drive all of the ministry’s strategies toward achieve the individual goals, the last strategy is for the ministry set up a system to collaborate with all parties to drive the strategy. This would be done by meeting with all of the ministry’s departments every month, meetings between the ministry and private sector to drive the country’s economy. As well there must be collaboration between all parties to consider the product and price guarantee under a participatory meeting between the government, private sector and farmers. That would set he price and the way to implement it, and also push commercial ambassadors to work together with the private sector to boost the country’s export market, he said.