Competitiveness of Thai products in CLMV Begins to Decline…Product and Service Improvements Needed (KR CLMV Economic Presence Index Analysis)

The competiveness of Thai exports to CLMV has trended lower compared to dynamic exports of other Southeast Asian countries. Export share of other Southeast Asian countries in CLMV surged to over 50 percent in 2019, increasing from just 17 percent reported for 2018 or within only three years.  The decline in Thai shipments to CLMV is attributable to the fact that such exports are largely commodities, e.g., refined petroleum products or gold, plus foods and beverages, consumer products, in particular bottled drinking water and fruits, which do not have high added value. In addition, our Thai exports above have become saturated in CLMV, compared to merchandise exports from Japan and South Korea., which are primarily intermediate products, with relatively high added value. Moreover, because outward investment from the Thai manufacturing sector in CLMV focuses on foods and chemicals using natural resources in CLMV as raw materials, this has not created a concrete supply chain link. Our intermediate exports, namely rubber, agricultural chemicals and integrated circuits, to CLVM do not link with our outward investment in CLMV, as well. 


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