By Laura Lee, Pix by Anthony Tan
The 4th Thailand Trade Show (TTS) 2011, which ends today, saw increased participation from 70 exhibitors offering a diverse range of products and services from various industries, including tourism.
They range from food & beverage, textile, apparels and accessories, cosmetics, health care, pharmaceutical, gifts and decorative items, plastic as well as household consumer products.
This three-day annual trade show is aimed at Malaysian entrepreneurs and industrialists who are keen to explore business opportunities and collaboration with Thailand.
Organised by the Office of Commercial Affairs, Kuala Lumpur under the Department of Export Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand, TTS 2011 occupied 1,700 sq m of space at Hall 1 of the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
We were feted with Thai cultural dance performances at its launch on Friday afternoon.
As usual, the traditional costumes worn by its beautiful lady dancers and their elegant and graceful movements were a delight to watch.
As I followed the VIP entourage to visit the booths, at our first stop, I not only had the chance to savour some of Thai sweet desserts but also saw how much work goes into making them by the two Thai girls who were doing the food demonstration.
Whisked off to the last minute press conference by the Office of Commercial Affairs, Kuala Lumpur, its director Nannatee Wiboonchutikula said bilateral trade between Thailand and Malaysia, which stood at US$20 billion (RM60.2 billion) in 2010, is expected to grow at least 10% this year.
Electrical and electronic products continue to top the list of Malaysia’s exports to Thailand and Thailand’s major imports to Malaysia.
As part of the efforts to encourage trade between Asean members, Nannatee, who has been in Malaysia for the last three years, hopes to see more Thai small and medium enterprises invest in Malaysia.
Nannatee, who is also the Minister Counsellor (Commercial) at the Royal Thai Embassy, said among the Thai companies that have invested in Malaysia are the Charoen Pokphand Group and Bangkok Bank.
“The response to the business matching session was quite good today,” adding that she hopes to see the sales and orders received from the business matching sessions to increase by 10% from the RM20 million recorded last year.
The business matching sessions are on throughout the duration of TTS 2011, which receives support from other Thai government agencies in Kuala Lumpur such as the Office of Labour Affairs, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Airways.
Visitors to TTS 2011 stand a chance to win a round trip economy ticket to Bangkok by Thai Airways by completing a simple survey which requires you to answer three questions and write a slogan of what you like about Thai products.
Make sure you submit your form by 5pm today into the contest box. Winners will be notified in two weeks’ time.
You can also participate in the games and activities at 1pm, 4pm and 6.30pm today. You might be lucky enough to walk off with some prizes if you can answer the questions correctly.
Tired from touring the exhibition? Don’t miss the booth offering you a sample of Thai massage. The service is provided free. However, you are encouraged to drop in a token.
For those who missed the Thai cooking demonstration yesterday afternoon, you can catch Chef Korn of Erawan Thai Restaurant’s session at 3pm today.
TTS 2011 closes earlier at 7pm today.
