Efforts to Expand OTOP Products to the International Market

The Government is giving a major boost to the development of community products, under the "One Tambon, One Product,” or "OTOP,” program to make them better known in the international market.

It believes that OTOP operators will have greater opportunities to expand their products into other ASEAN markets, when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is in place.

In order to promote OTOP products, the Ministry of Interior is holding a fair where people will get a unique opportunity to buy top-quality OTOP products from all parts of the country. The fair, entitled "OTOP to AEC,” takes place daily from 3 to 25 November 2015 at Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem, near Government House in Bangkok.

It is arranged in response to the Government’s policy to help in the marketing of small traders and to create confidence among the public in the high standards of Thai products. Members of the public are invited to visit the fair, which is open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. More than 330 OTOP items that have good potential for export are now on display and on sale at the fair.

In this event, a team of experts is ready to give advice to OTOP operators and interested persons on ways to develop the standards of products and seek funding sources for their business.

Thailand launched the OTOP program in 2001 as a self-help mechanism for each and every community, with emphasis on rural areas, to draw upon local knowledge and ingenuity. The program aims to build up small enterprises in communities by encouraging the people to manufacture local products using their homegrown skills and expertise. It is a way of stimulating human creativity and innovation at the grassroots level, as well as generating more income for local people.

The Government offers assistance and advice in terms of modern technology, marketing, and management techniques. The assistance will make the products more attractive to both domestic and international markets. It will also enable villagers to produce their goods to meet higher standards.

The development of OTOP products will also help develop community economy and maximize the use of local resources for the maximum benefit. The OTOP products that have good potential will be developed further to enable them to go international. The Government has urged relevant government agencies and private organizations to offer a helping hand by giving advice to OTOP operators.

Since AEC will be a market of 600 million people, OTOP products are likely to have a greater market share in the ASEAN region.