Message From Chamber – October 2022

As Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner based in Bangkok, it is a privilege to serve as the ex-officio Director on the Austcham Board.

My organisation, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) is the Australian Government’s international trade promotion and investment attraction agency. We generate market information and insights, promote Australian capability, and facilitate connections through our extensive global network.

The Austrade team in Bangkok is located in the Australian Embassy and works with a wide range of Australian exporters and businesses with a presence in Thailand, Thai investors in Australia and the education sector. Thailand is consistently one of Austrade’s strongest performing global markets in terms of value generated by our clients in market. This fits in the broader context of Thailand being Australia’s 11th largest two-way trading partner (goods and services) at approximately A$22 billion in 2021. Like Austcham our team is proud to support this very important trading relationship.

One sector where we have seen significant growth in recent years is agribusiness, with food and fibre exports worth AUD$1.2 billion last year, a 61% increase since 2019. You might have seen Australian beef dominating shelves at your local supermarket this year. With borders open the education sector is also staging a strong recovery – Thailand is sitting in sixth position for Year-to-Date enrolments for international students and recorded by the highest percentage increase in enrolments of any top 10 source market.

November and December will see a significant program of activity across the Embassy.

Thailand will receive several senior Australian Government visitors over the coming weeks, culminating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Week from 14-19 November. APEC is a regional economic forum with 21 member economies across Asia-Pacific region.

Austrade will host the Australia Pavilion at Asia Fruit Logistica in partnership with industry, from 1-4 November. Over 100 Australian exporters and industry associations are expected to attend. Come see us at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center if you are in the food game.

Looking forward to seeing you at an Austcham event soon.