The “BCG economy” is a new theory for national development that Thailand has been promoting on the world stage. It is a holistic economic development linking three economies. The first is the Bioeconomy, focusing on bringing new technology and innovation knowledge to develop the basics of biological resources or agricultural products, in which Thailand has been strong, in order to upgrade and add value to productivity. It is linked to the second component, the Circular Economy, which takes into account the reuse of various materials as much as possible. In addition to creating value for waste, it also reduces the amount of waste in the production sector to zero waste. And, third, both of these economies are under the Green Economy, which is the use of environmentally friendly production technology to spur economic and social development and environmental preservation, in order to achieve stability and sustainability at the same time.

       In the early stages of the BCG economy, the focus was on enhancing the efficiency of existing production-based producers in five targeted industries (S-curves), namely (a) agriculture and food, (b) health and medicine, (c) energy, (d) materials and bio-chemicals, and finally, (e) tourism and the creative economy. 

       In the past, Thailand’s economic growth rate was not sufficient for Thailand to overcome "the middle-income trap” and reduce economic inequality. Thailand needed to change its economic and social development model by relying on the strengths of the country, consisting of biodiversity and cultural diversity, promoting and developing itself as the owner of high-value goods and services to elevate the value in the production chain of goods and services, adopting modern digital innovation technology for further development, and creating sustainable economic growth, distributing income, opportunities and wealth thoroughly (Inclusive Growth) by using a new economic model called the "BCG economy."

Thailand has set the following strategic goals to drive the BCG economy:

 - To generate economic value-added in BCG target industries;

 - To reduce inequality by increasing income for farmers and communities;

 - To upgrade Thai food industry entrepreneurs to become the world's top five producers of healthy food and high-value food ingredients;

 - To build and develop bio-industry, production of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biomaterials, strengthening their potential for export and a source of high-skilled employment and high income;

 - To provide a tourism management system that will place it in the top three in Asia and the Pacific, organized by Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, World Economic Forum;

 - To reduce resource usage by 2/3 from the current amount.

       The BCG economic model, in addition to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, also complies with the philosophy of the "Sufficiency Economy" of King Rama IX, which is an important pillar in the economic and social development of Thailand.

Source : National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)
Tel : +66 2564 7000