Thai factories ready to respond to floods

Thai Industry Minister Pimphattra Wichaikul said on Sunday (June 23) that factories and relevant agencies have prepared measures to deal with flooding caused by the phenomenon La Nina.

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She made the statement in response to concerns that Thailand would face El Niño rather than La Ninawhich could lead to lots of rain and flooding in the country.

The official said her ministry was preparing measures to prevent flooding in industrial zones, while the Industrial Zones Authority of Thailand had also drawn up measures to deal with flooding step by step.

Pimphattra Wichaikul said what was more worrying than the floods was the economic situation in the first half of this year, which became problematic.

She added that the poor economic situation had pushed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to make overseas visits to try to convince foreign investors to invest in the kingdom.

Although Srettha Thavisin’s efforts are likely to bear fruit in the second half of this year, the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains a major concern.

She said market demands have changed and SMEs must learn to adapt to changing markets.

The Department of Industrial Promotion and other departments in its ministry are trying to convince SMEs to adjust their business practices to cope with the changing situation.

Thailand’s Manufacturing Performance Index (MPI) rose 3.43 percent in April from March to 90.34, marking its first growth in 18 months, Pimphattra Wichaikul Wichaikul said, noting that use of manufacturing capacity in April was 55.26%, which was not high.

VNA/CVN