WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI

The Customs Department plans to accelerate programmes to upgrade the country's logistics infrastructure to help reduce operating costs and assist the export sector.

Department officials met yesterday with the National Legislative Assembly's commerce committee to discuss export trends.

Export growth fell sharply in July to just 6.2% from the year before, down from an average of 18% in the first half.

Chaowalit Sethameteekul, the customs director-general, said the department had now improved its IT system to link with more than 30 state agencies related to licensing and approvals for the export sector.

''Licensing can now be made through a single window, helping reduce costs for businesses,'' he said.

The first agency to join the programme will be the Industrial Works Department later this month.

New technologies, including RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, GPS (Global Positioning System), closed-circuit televisions and container X-ray scanners, have also been procured to facilitate tracking and monitoring of shipments throughout the supply chain. They will also facilitate customs processing.

Mr Chaowalit said new logistics laws now before the NLA would also help improve the country's logistics networks by supporting electronic transactions and electronic signatures to reduce paperwork and speed processing.

NLA member Pornsith Sriarutaikul said the single-window concept was a long-awaited programme of the private sector.

Exporters could save billions of baht per year by reducing paperwork and bureaucracy in processing shipments and improving inventory management, he said.

Private businesses currently must comply with a perplexing array of state licensing requirements. The must be approved by a number of agencies, including the Public Health, Agriculture and Industry ministries.