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A B2B e-Phyto Exchange System was launched on June 12 in Thailand by National Telecom Public Co. in partnership with InterCommerce Network Services, Inc. and the Pan-Asian E-Commerce Alliance Digital Trade Alliance
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The system upgrades the export process of Thai plant and plant products to a fully digital system, thereby increasing the country’s competitiveness in the global trade arena
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The exchange of ePhyto certificates for agricultural imports and exports between the Philippines and Thailand is the first step in initiating B2B exchanges between two countries
A B2B e-Phyto Exchange System was launched on June 12 in Thailand by the National Telecom Public Co. Ltd. (NT) in partnership with InterCommerce Network Services, Inc. (INS) and the Pan-Asian E-Commerce Alliance (PAA) Digital Trade Alliance.
The system upgrades the export process of Thai plant and plant products to a fully digital system, thereby increasing the country’s competitiveness in the global trade arena, NT said in a statement.
An e-Phyto certificate is the electronic equivalent of the paper phytosanitary certificate and guarantees that a plant or plant product for export is free from pests and diseases, and conforms to other phytosanitary requirements by the importing country.
To jointly drive the system into service, NT tapped both the private and public sectors, including INS from the Philippines as the system development and data exchange service provider, the Department of Agriculture (DOA) as the issuer of ePhyto certificates; the Customs Department as the import-export supervisor and supporter of data standard integration; and the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS) as the supporter of phytosanitary standards and coordinator of international cooperation.
NT said the ePhyto Exchange system plays an important role to enhance the country’s competitive potential, saving time and costs in the operation process, and enhancing global trade.
The system can also be extended to exchange other new documents and connect to other trade platforms.
INS president and PAA Digital Trade Alliance deputy chair Francis Lopez said the business-to-business exchange between INS and NT is a public-private cross-border collaboration towards trade facilitation.
The exchange of ePhyto certificates for agricultural imports and exports between the Philippines and Thailand is the first step in initiating B2B exchanges between two countries.
InterCommerce and NT have been partners for a long time and are members of the PAA Digital Trade Alliance, which now has digital linkages among its members comprising 18 national single window (NSW) operators and trade/logistics service providers in Asia, Oceania, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
NT operates Thailand’s NSW—a prerequisite to link to the ASEAN Single Window, an integrated platform for facilitating trade through faster clearance of cargo and release between ASEAN member states.
Chaisak Rinkeun, director of the Plant and Agricultural Materials Control Office of DOA, said the new ePhyto Exchange system “will facilitate the private sector to exchange electronics documents both business to government and business to business which is reliable, transparent and traceable.”
He said DOA fully supports Thai entrepreneurs in the process of exchanging data through the B2B ePhyto exchange system to enhance to fully digital trade.
Thai Customs Department Administration and Development of Information Exchange System for Import Export and Logistics Division director Kant Klaysuban, meanwhile, said they will collaborate with other government agencies to have ePhyto exchange with China within 1-2 years.
