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Seminar on Doing Business with the UN In Food Processing Sector
Thursday, 30 June 2005
Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok
I. Background
Thailand has for many years been a valuable development partner with world community, sharing its experiences, providing technical assistance and learning services, and supporting development efforts in other countries. Thailand is also playing a leading role in a wide range of regional and sub-regional cooperation initiatives with a common aim of promoting economic cooperation and human development, and ultimately achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
The development and humanitarian business is “big business”. The estimated value of business opportunities emanating from the United Nations system and the multilateral lending institutions exceeds US$ 30 billion annually. The core UN agencies (such as UNDP, WFP, UNICEF, UNFPA, and WHO) alone procure goods and services worth over US$ 4.5 billion a year. The big supplier countries are USA, India, Belgium and France, followed by Italy, Switzerland, UK and Japan.
However, total procurement volume from Thailand by the UN in 2003 was US$ 23.5 million for goods and US$ 5.8 million for services, totaling US$ 29.3 million. From these statistics, Thailand’s share of this UN global market is only 0.64 %. Most of the goods and services supplied by Thailand include IT equipment (UNESCAP and UNICEF), contraceptives (UNFPA), household technologies (UNICEF), pharmaceuticals (UNICEF), educational supplies and printing (UNICEF), water & sanitation (UNICEF), medical/hygiene kits (UNICEF), food stuffs (WFP), and services (UNESCAP and the UN Secretariat).
Although the procurement volume from Thailand in 2003 increased from the previous years, this is still a very small share indeed, and it is obvious that there is ample opportunity for Thailand to become a bigger contributor.
Considering the vast opportunities of doing business with the UN and the current Thai Government’s foreign policy on “Forward Engagement”, which promotes active international economic cooperation in the region and beyond, UNDP Thailand and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency (TICA), have initiated an activity on “Doing Business with the UN” since late 2003, under the programme on “Support to Thailand International Partnership for Development” (2004-2006). This initiative shall provide an important opportunity to expand the collaboration between Thailand and the United Nations. An official launch of this activity took place on 12 November 2004, at the UN Conference Center, Bangkok, with a business seminar on “Doing Business with the UN”, which was organized by UNDP Thailand in partnership with TICA and the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
Following the business seminar, the FTI has set up a special unit within the FTI with the official launch on 16 March 2005. The purpose of the FTI unit is to help facilitate business opportunities between Thai companies and the UN system, through provision of information on procurement opportunities, requirements, process and procedures. This FTI unit will also help Thai companies to increase their access to the UN Global Market Place and in their registration process. With this unit at the FTI, it is hoped that Thai companies would increase their global market share in the years to come. As part of this initiative, the FTI, TICA and UNDP Thailand will be conducting another seminar on “Doing Business with the UN” with a focus on food processing sector, which is one of Thailand’s great potential areas for trade and business activities with the UN.
II. Objective of the Business Seminar
The proposed seminar aims to increase the ability of Thai private sector to take advantage of business opportunities, as suppliers in food processing sector, to the UN System, through their better knowledge on the business opportunities available through the concerned UN agencies worldwide and their better understanding on the procurement process, functions and requirements of these UN agencies. The business seminar also aims to increase the UN system’s ability to access goods in food processing sector, which are supplied by Thailand.
III. Areas of Focus at the Business Seminar
The business seminar will provide Thai private sector participants with information on the following areas (not limited to):
- Overall structure, scope and activities of the UN agencies specializing in food processing sector;
- Brief information on the required goods and services by these UN agencies, and on the market opportunities;
- Principals of public procurement;
- Rules and regulations governing the UN procurement;
- Company registration with the UN System database (UN common supplier database);
- Identification of business opportunities and relevant UN agencies;
- Systematic / regular information about current procurement activities;
- Bidding process, solicitation methods and how to respond these;
- Specifications;
- Evaluation criteria and contract award;
- Contract performance;
- Tips, do and don’ts and how to avoid pitfalls;
- Network linkages with different UN procurement agencies/units.
The participants will also have an opportunity to meet directly with some members of the UN procurement agencies concerned during the business seminar.
IV. Expected Results
The participants are expected to increase their knowledge and eventually ability to undertake the necessary steps towards successful supplying products and services in food processing sector to the UN agencies, such as:
- Knowledge in the UN procurement rules and procedures that will enable Thai businesses to produce proper bidding documents and practices;
- Market knowledge (what does the UN procure);
- Matching the needs with suitable goods and services;
- Registration into the UN common supplier database;
- Systematic/regular information about procurement practices, and network on the current procurement activities, and follow-up process.
- Necessary characters required i.e. persistence, endurance and patience It is also expected that, following the seminar, the numbers of Thai companies in food processing sector registered with the UN Global Market Place will be increased.
V. Participants
It is expected that there will be approximately 80 - 100 participants from Thai companies in food processing sector attending the business seminar. The participants shall be identified through the FTI. Resource persons to the business seminar shall include representatives from some key UN procurement agencies concerned i.e. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the UNDP/Inter-Agency Procurement Services Office (UNDP/IAPSO).
VI. Date and Venue
The business seminar is scheduled for 30 June 2005, during 9.00 hours – 12.00 hours, at the Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok. The seminar will be followed by lunch.
VII. Format of the Business Seminar
The business seminar will be a forum to share knowledge on procurement opportunities between the UN system and Thai private sector (and not a trade fair type). During the seminar, it is proposed that generic subjects/issues related to the UN procurement and procedures in food processing sector be presented by the UN agencies concerned and the FTI, followed by dialogues, questions and answers. A network facility (with approximately 3 computers with Internet facility) will be provided by the FTI at the seminar for Thai companies who may be interested to register their names, on-line, with the UN procurement agencies and/or networks. Examples of products from Thailand may also be exhibited at the Business Seminar.