Thailand has the ASEAN region’s largest chemicals industry by value and by volume, sharing a blend of petrochemical and performance chemical activity. The country is also a net importer of a range of chemicals for the plastics & polymers sector, the pharmaceutical & agrochemical, the paint and coatings industry and the food ingredients sector, to name a few. In the words of Dr. Supawan Tantayanon, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Chulalongkorn University and Post-President of the Chemical Society of Thailand: “Thailand is the strongest base for chemical manufacturing and investments among the 10 ASEAN members, thanks to its strategic location and an open investment climate over the past three decades. The determination of ASEAN to become a single market at the end of 2015 under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will assist Thailand in its position as the natural hub for chemical industries within the wider ASEAN and its 580 million population.” Key drivers for growth Thailand’s GDP is growing at an average of 6.5% GDP increased from US$200 billion in 2000 to US$312billion in 2011. Thailand’s population growth will drive such areas as healthcare, construction and food manufacturing over the next 10 years. Thailand’s Chemical Roadmap (2004-2018) calls for growth in the pharma, agrochemical, construction and food ingredients sector. However with limited domestic performance chemical manufacture currently available, it is acknowledged that the growth in the sectors outlined will be fuelled by imports of base chemical ingredients.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 08:02:18 +0000
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