BANGKOK, Thailand, 22 August, 2024 – At the TOPTHAI Cross Border e-Commerce Day 2024, Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) and Amazon Global Selling (AGS) announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help bolster ecommerce export capabilities of Thailand’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Under the MoU, DITP and AGS will join forces to improve Thailand businesses’ knowledge about ecommerce export to the U.S. by facilitating workshops and providing advisory and support for those interested in becoming an Amazon selling partner . The U.S. ranks second in the world by e-commerce total revenue amounting to 1.1 trillion USD in 2023 according to Statista[1]. In a survey commissioned by Amazon and conducted by Access Partnership in 2023, more than 65% of Thailand’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) ranked the U.S. as a priority ecommerce destination over the next five years.
Mr. Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit, Director General of the Department of International Trade Promotion, said: "The Department of International Trade Promotion is pleased to sign a MoU with Amazon Global Selling and we strongly believe that this will help accelerate Thai businesses’ pace to export and reach global markets such as the U.S., while also enhancing the international reputation of Thai products. Exports are an essential business driver for Thailand’s economy." he added.
Mr. Anand Palit, Head of Amazon Global Selling for Southeast Asia, said, "We are very thankful for DITP’s continuous collaboration over the past few years and we are convinced that this MoU will take our cooperation even further. According to research commissioned by Amazon, 95% of Thailand businesses surveyed agreed that government-industry collaboration to organize educational sessions (e.g., conferences, seminars) would enhance their ecommerce export capabilities. This is exactly what we are going to do with this MoU with DITP.”
In connection with the MoU, Amazon Global Selling will join DITP’s roadshows in Thailand to raise awareness of ecommerce export opportunities in the U.S. During DITP’s roadshows, AGS will educate Thailand brand owners and businesses about how to sell their products in the Amazon U.S store and about U.S. consumer preferences and trends. In the 12-month period ending 31 June 2024, the top 5 categories from Thailand selling partners in the Amazon U.S store were Home, Apparel, Grocery, Health & Personal Care, Sport.
In addition, Amazon Global Selling plans to organize regular onboarding workshops to help Thailand brands and businesses launch on Amazon.com. The workshops will cover topics such as account opening, product listing creation, international shipping, digital advertising etc.
Finally, Amazon Global Selling and DITP plan to continue to work together to increase the launch of Thai products under the TOPTHAI project on Amazon.com. TOPTHAI is a program from DITP to help selected high-quality Thai brands sell overseas. DITP will select the brands part of the TOPTHAI program and refer them to Amazon Global Selling to potentially launch on Amazon.com. In addition, DITP will showcase TOPTHAI-supported brands selling on Amazon through a dedicated booth at the TOPTHAI Pavilion at Times Square in New York City on September 3rd.
Mr. Wootinun Sungong, owner of Tuff Sport - a TOPTHAI-supported brand based in Bangkok which is specialized in the design, manufacturing of unique Muay Thai shorts and which recently launched on Amazon.com said: “We’ve been trying to crack the U.S. market for the past several years and initially we did it through traditional off-line channels, which proved challenging. We quickly realized that Amazon’s services, particularly, its FBA [Fulfilment By Amazon] services allowed us to penetrate all U.S. locations easily because when a U.S. customer purchases our products on Amazon.com, Amazon in the U.S. picks, packs and ships the order for us and can even provide customer service and handle customer returns for our orders in the U.S. In addition, DITP has helped us with marketing campaign on Amazon.com after joining the TOPTHAI program.”
Ms. Parichat Srimontree Head of Online Channels at Wel-B healthy snacks, a TOPTHAI-supported brand and family-run business from Samut Sakhon specialized in freeze-dried, oil-free and food-additive free fruit snacks which launched their storefront on Amazon.com said: “We are truly honored to have participated in this project with DIPT and Amazon Global Selling. This project has not only enhanced our team's capabilities but also provided us with invaluable opportunities to learn and grow in the global e-commerce industry. Working alongside experts from Amazon Global Selling has given us new insights and knowledge that are crucial for the sustainable development of our online business.”
Anand Palit concluded: “Amazon Global Selling has enabled thousands of Thailand sellers to bring millions of Thai product units to worldwide customers. The average sale of Thailand businesses in the Amazon U.S. store saw a double-digit increase in the first six months this year compared to the same period last year. Thailand businesses are keen to export through ecommerce and with Amazon’s innovative tools and support and our partnership with DITP, we can help more local brands go global and seize export opportunities in the U.S. and also in other countries.”
For more information about TOPTHAI, please visit https://www.facebook.com/ThaiTradedotcom/?locale=th_TH
For further inquiry please contact DITP Hotline 1169
For more information about Amazon Global Selling, please visit https://sell.amazon.co.th/
For businesses that would like to register their interest for Amazon-DITP’s 5-course incubation program, please visit https://go.amzn.to/TOPTHAI
[1] https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1283912/global-revenue-of-the-e-commerce-market-country