Thai Ministry of Commerce Seeks Blockchain Use for Trade Finance, Farming and Digital Rights

Thai Ministry of Commerce Explores Blockchain Technology

According to English-language Thai newspaper the Bangkok Post, Thailand’s Ministry of commerce has started conducting feasibility studies that analyze the impact of blockchain technology in areas such as copyright, agriculture, and trade finance.

Pimchanok Vonkorpon of Thailand’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) reported to the Bangkok Post that the studies are being performed with the British embassy’s help. The ministry is interested in determining whether decentralized solutions can improve the country’s competitiveness and credibility, specifically when it comes to small businesses.

He added that the technology’s feasibility studies will discuss a process called digital IDs, IP registration management, security, and smart contracts. The TPSO is also interested in creating sandboxes to apply blockchain in the rice export industry.

The article also discussed that farmers have reached out to the ministry responsible for developing the procedures concerning export of products. They’ve reported to the ministry that the export procedure might last 15-20 days and involves about seven government agencies, thus causing costs to increase. Thus, they indicated that a blockchain solution may be able to reduce export time and enhance trust of products on the food chain.

News platform Cointelegraph recently discussed that blockchain is turning into a popular solution for food tracking purposes. For instance, IBM launched a blockchain-powered Food Trust that has been joined by retailers such as Walmart and France’s Carrefour. With food tracking, product recall becomes much easier.

Concerning Thailand’s finance industry, it is interested in blockchain as well. Cointelegraph recently reported that the Thai Bond Market Association is interested in applying blockchain technology to its operation. A decentralized solution may be able to reduce bond issuance time from 7 to 15 days to 3 to four days.

Also, Thailand’s fourth largest bank partnered with Visa. The partnership will be able to provide blockchain solutions for cross-border payments. This may also increase operational security.