Writer: NAREERAT WIRIYAPONG
Bangkok Post
Bureaucratic revamp to cut logistics costs
Customs to become 'business facilitator'
Major breakthroughs in the restructuring of the State Railway of Thailand and a revamp of the Customs Department are expected by next month, as parts of a government move to cut the cost of logistics in Thailand.
The Customs Department restructure will transform the agency from a revenue collector into a facilitator for business operators, Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Phataraprasit said yesterday.
"The Customs Department has performed a lot better, but it still has room for further upgrading to help improve the investment climate and lift the kingdom's competitiveness," Mr Pradit said, speaking at conference on logistics in the Asean region.
"Within next month, or by early September at the latest, there will be a major change at the Customs Department to make this Finance Ministry unit a facilitator and service provider for exporters and importers."
The minister did not provide details of the restructuring but said the idea was catalysed by talks with logistics and tourism organisations, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and some foreign chambers of commerce.
"Logistics costs in Thailand are very high, accounting for 19% of gross domestic product at present. Besides, we need to prepare for the implementation of the Asean Free Trade Area and more free trade areas in the near future," said Mr Pradit.
The long-delayed restructuring of the loss-ridden SRT must be pushed ahead to improve the state enterprise's efficiency, he said.
"The proposed changes to the SRT are a restructuring, not the privatisation that the union is afraid of," Mr Pradit said.
"The government must be brave enough to make the decision and SRT management has to explain this issue clearly to its employees."
Alan Miu, country manager of TNT Express Worldwide (Thailand), agreed that improving Thailand's customs procedures and integrating them with other Southeast Asean nations are seen as crucial developments by international logistics providers.
"A single agency in charge of every customs procedure, like the one in Singapore, has not yet been established here in Thailand," Mr Miu said.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, TNT has a 7,500-kilometre Asian road-freight network covering Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.
It takes four to five days to ship products from southern China to Thailand by road. Road freight charges are 20% lower than by air, he said.
Some customers are shipping freight from Cambodia to Thailand by road, to make use of the cheaper and more efficient air freight services at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
"We have seen demand slowly coming up from customers to change from air to road transport this year as they have become more cost conscious during economic hardships," Mr Miu said.
Freight volumes shipped on TNT's Asia road network rose by 30% year-to-date compared with the same period last year. Most goods were electronic and automotive products, as well as semi-finished machinery.
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