The First Decade of the One Tambon, One Product Program

(18/12/2012)

The “One Tambon, One Product,” or OTOP, program has been carried out for one decade now. The Government aims to promote OTOP products on a continual basis to help them gain more international recognition. The public have been urged to visit the OTOP City 2012 fair to learn more about OTOP products at the Challenger Hall, IMPACT Trade and Exhibition Center, Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi province, from 15 to 23 December 2012. The call was made by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in the program “Yingluck Government Meets the People,” broadcast on Radio Thailand and NBT Television. Today, the overall sales value of OTOP products is 76 billion baht a year, which also includes exports worth 10 billion baht. The Prime Minster would like to see the overall sales value increase to 100 billion baht by 2015. She said that when the high-speed train service is open to the public in the future, OTOP products would be offered on the train, as well. The OTOP policy was introduced in 2001, when rural people in every tambon, or subdistrict, were encouraged to unite and create a product that represents the wisdom and culture of the community, in order to generate extra income for local people during their free time. This program was able to earn about one billion baht in the first year. The earnings rose to 24 billion baht in 2002 and 33 billion baht in 2003. Thailand modeled the OTOP program on the experience of Oita Prefecture in the Kyushu area of Japan. In order to stimulate the manufacture of local products using home-grown expertise and skills, the Government provides villagers with technical assistance and advice to enable them to produce their goods efficiently and at high standards. As a key incentive, the Government assists in the marketing of these goods, in cooperation with the private business sector. There are currently about 30,000 OTOP producers across the country. The Government has a policy to develop OTOP producers into small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) operators, under the OTOP Plus project. According to the provisions of the project, the Ministry of Industry will help develop the potential of OTOP entrepreneurs and upgrade the quality of their products, especially in terms of investment in technology and packaging. In this way, OTOP small enterprises will be developed into SMEs. The Government wants to see the setting up of OTOP exhibition and distribution centers to serve as marketing channels for OTOP goods and as centers for OTOP management and training. Thailand’s first OTOP exhibition and distribution center is being constructed in Chiang Mai province. Similar centers will also be established in other major cities, such as Bangkok and Phuket. Online marketing for OTOP products has been launched to publicize the products both locally and internationally. Buyers may order the products online, which will be sent to them by post.