The government has persuaded Ali Auction, an online auction platform under Alibaba Group, to partner with the Thai Orchid Exporter Association to promote online sales of Thai orchids in China.
The association yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ali Auction.
Pornchai Tarkulwaranont, an adviser to Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, who witnessed the signing ceremony yesterday, said the MoU is the result of close cooperation between the Commerce Ministry and Alibaba Group to promote Thai agricultural products to the Chinese market via e-commerce as part of a broader collaboration between the two since April 2018 to prepare Thailand's economy for the digital age.
Ali Auction is hosted on Taobao Marketplace, Alibaba Group's flagship social commerce platform, which sees over 600 million active consumers annually.
The website facilitates several forms of online auctions by businesses and government agencies, spanning a wide range of products such as flowers, art pieces, jewellery, cars and collectables.
In the initial stage, the Thai Orchid Exporter Association and Ali Auction will focus on promoting sales of Thai orchids to small businesses such as online and offline florists, wedding planners, conference organisers and restaurants in China while serving individual consumers.
"The MoU is a key step in the expansion of the orchid trade, which to date is still mainly conducted through traditional channels," said Kasan Chavanapanit, president of the association. "Thai orchid growers should adapt to digital trends to be able to compete in the future. China is an important market, as the value of Chinese flowers traded through the online channel amounted to 36 billion yuan [171 billion baht] in 2018, and the value is expected to increase by 70% in 2019."
The presale model will also make it possible for orchid growers to better plan their production based on actual customer needs.
"We are confident that our tie-up with the Thai Orchid Exporter Association will help expand Thai orchid growers' reach of potential customers in China who were previously not accessible through traditional means," said Jun Zhen, business development manager at Ali Auction.
