Productivity to the fore in 11th national plan: PM

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva

At the opening of the "Productivity Expo 2009" - subtitled "Productivity: Tomorrow's Hope" - held by the Thailand Productivity Institute, Abhisit said the focus would also be consistent with the government's second stimulus package, which is aimed at strengthening the country's basic structure and boosting overall management efficiency.

This will help Thailand better cope with global economic uncertainties.

Because the country has limited natural resources, it needs to boost productivity or it will not be able to compete with other countries in the long term, the premier said.

"We've gained benefits from our natural resources for a long time - for example, in the tourism sector - but failed to manage these resources [productively]," he said.

Although the Kingdom is a major producer and exporter of crops such as rice, tapioca and rubber, yields are lower than those of competitors, due to poor management, he added.

"We should aim at being the world's leading food and alternative-fuel maker, but we must develop the infrastructure and improve productivity, which will be the key to sustaining the country's economic growth and competitiveness in the long term," he said.

Charoen Pokphand Group vice chairman Ajva Taulananda said productivity improvement was the only solution for sustaining competitiveness.

"The world has limited land, while population and demand for food and biofuel are rising. This is Thailand's opportunity. If we're successful in boosting our crop yields, we will not lack food and can grasp the business opportunity to become the world's leading player in food and biofuel," he said.

Thailand Development Research Institute president Nipon Poapongsakorn said Thais still had no confidence in the economy, so they preferred saving to investing, which is not a good sign.

He said the government must promote investment in technology, particularly in the service sector, which suffers from low productivity.

Nipon also said a shortage of workers was a significant obstacle to developing the country in the long run.

"The government should revise the laws to permit foreigners to work here more easily and also extend the retirement age for workers in state agencies, because there is a growing number of older people," he said.

Nipon said the government's new stimulus package should give priority to high-return projects in order to steer the under-pressure economy effectively.

Santi Vilassakdanont, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said the government and the private sector needed to boost cooperation and improve productivity, so that Thailand remained competitive during a period of global trade liberalisation.

He said the economy this year would not contract by more than 3 per cent, as he expected the government's stimulus package to boost growth in the final quarter.