MEALS ON WHEELS
The government is considering launching a select food truck caravan scheme, mainly targeting tourist hotspots.
The government is considering launching a select food truck caravan scheme, mainly targeting tourist hotspots.
Deputy Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said food truck caravans serving upmarket cuisine will be dispatched mainly in the evening to important tourism spots to cater to both Thai and foreign tourists.
“Commerce Ministry officials are now in talks with their Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) counterparts to find the proper venues, especially where foreign tourists gather, to dispatch the food trucks,” he said. “For private food truck operators, the ministry is ready to cooperate with financial institutions to help provide them financial support if they are short on capital.”
The initiative is expected to get off the ground in the second half of the year.
Mr Sontirat said the ministry also plans to reinstate the Thai Select programme.
Thai Select is a seal of approval granted to Thai restaurants abroad that serve authentic Thai food and processed Thai food products. The objective is to increase the recognition of quality Thai restaurants and processed Thai food products as well as to encourage Thai restaurant operators and food producers to raise their standards while maintaining authenticity.
Thai Select is part of the Thai Kitchen World Cuisine programme introduced in 2006 to capitalise on the global popularity of Thai cuisine.
The certification for Thai Select restaurants is divided into two categories based on decorations and service excellence.
Thai Select Premium indicates a degree of excellence of five stars or higher. The label is granted to restaurants that offer authentic Thai food of a premium quality with luxurious decor and outstanding service.
Thai Select indicates three to fours stars, awarded to restaurants serving fine authentic Thai cuisine.
To date, 1,301 restaurants abroad have received certification.
Mr Sontirat said to find synergy with the government’s local economy development plans, the ministry is also teaming up with the BMA to develop and upgrade the sanitary standards at fresh markets throughout Bangkok.
The ministry also pledges to speed up developing community markets — central markets for agricultural products — and must-visit attractions, as well as promoting the use of technology in marketing management and distribution channels to boost local people’s income.
The government is injecting 35 billion baht into Village Funds in a fresh effort to spur the rural economy and support community-based entrepreneurs under the government-initiated Pracha Rat (People’s State) public-private collaborative scheme.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak recently said the government had approved funding to support infrastructure and local community development throughout 79,566 Village Funds of up to 500,000 baht per village.
The funding is part of an additional midyear budget of 190 billion baht for fiscal 2017, approved by the cabinet last December, of which more than half of the funds were earmarked to finance investment in provincial clusters and stimulate local economic development.
The National Legislative Assembly in January passed in three straight readings the additional budget bill for the 2017 fiscal year.
Mr Somkid said the mid-year expenditure is one of several mechanisms that will be instrumental in helping stimulate local economic development and raising incomes.
The Commerce Ministry, which handles the state’s marketing activities, needs to look more at how to develop the domestic market to absorb farmers’ output and connect the agricultural market and One Tambon One Product programme to tourism, not only exports.