The Bangkok International Fashion Fair and Bangkok International Leather Fair 2006 was organised by the ministry's Export Promotion Department.

It features 950 exhibits by 600

domestic and international com-

panies from Taiwan, Hong Kong,

Japan, India, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It covers 20,000sqm of floor space.

Commerce Ministry permanent secretary Karun Kittisataporn said international buyers were still in attendance and overseas exhibitors are taking part because they understand that the country's abrupt political change had not had any serious effect and there had been no bloodshed.

The ministry explained the situation to domestic companies participating in the event, while the Foreign Ministry has done the same for international participants.

He said Thailand's fashion sector, which includes the textile, garment and leather industries, has performed well. This is seen in the developed level of fashion design and the cooperation between upstream and downstream companies in each industry, enabling Thai products to cater to the high-end markets around the world.

The Commerce Ministry will continue to support Thai companies in pursuing integrated manufacturing, Karun said.

In the first eight months of this year, the country's garment exports grew 4.9 per cent to US$2.38 billion (Bt89.25 billion) from the same period in 2005. Of this, $1.198 billion went to the US, $156 million to Japan and $155 million from the UK.

The value of textile and thread industry exports in the same period was $1.19 billion, down 0.9 per cent year on year. The drop was attributed to higher oil prices that affected the cost of raw materials. The value of leather exports also fell by 8.5 per cent to $973 million.

The annual BIFF&BIL fair will be open until Sunday.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation