"Supachai" has revived the National Industry Committee after 4 years, advancing support for New S-Curve industries and pushing the Made in Thailand policy to create advantages in government procurement for three main industries, while also planning to amend six laws to enhance capabilities and competitiveness within the sector.
Ms. Supachai Suthumpun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, revealed after delivering policies to the Ministry of Industry that she has emphasized strengthening Thailand's economy from its domestic base while maintaining competitiveness in the global market amid geopolitical and technological changes. She is accelerating the promotion of target industries (New S-Curve) and increasing the use of domestically produced raw materials, components, and services. The government prioritizes high-value and strategically important industries: defense, rail systems, and medical equipment. The public sector market will be used as a demand mechanism through procurement and Green Procurement policies to increase opportunities for Thai products in both public and private markets, leading to new investments, income, employment, and long-term market expansion.
To enhance entrepreneurs' capabilities, the Ministry of Industry will connect "research-production-market-investment" from product development, improving production efficiency and standards, to workforce skill development and actual application of research and technology. This will use the GMT SMEs system of the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) to upgrade SMEs in terms of production efficiency, proportion of domestic raw materials and components, standards, and technology. It will link them to supply chains and large buyers alongside the Made in Thailand (MiT) standard of the Federation of Thai Industries, certifying that products are genuinely produced domestically and meet specified criteria.
Ms. Supachai said after meeting with the National Industry Committee (NIC) that this was the first meeting in 4 years to review integrated budgets and plan industrial strategies. The meeting discussed finding "new industries (New S-Curve)" to drive the economy, such as biotechnology, digital and artificial intelligence (AI), modern automotive, medical industries, and defense. They plan to revise the Manufacturing Production Index (MPI) and Capacity Utilization Rate to better reflect current realities by changing the base year from 2021 to 2024, incorporating new technology industries like semiconductors and photonics into calculations.
"The National Industry Committee has highlighted the Made in Thailand product plan to provide advantages to three main industry groups. The urgent policy supports entrepreneurs using domestic components under the Made in Thailand (MiT) framework by giving procurement preferences in the public sector to three specific industries: 1. Defense industry, 2. Health and medical industry, and 3. Transportation industry (rail systems)."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry is preparing to propose amendments to 5-6 laws to the Cabinet to align with changing economic and industrial conditions, including the Factory Act, Industrial Waste Act, and laws related to palm oil, especially industrial waste management, which will require careful integration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
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