BANGKOK, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's OTOP trade fair remains hectic with many shoppers on a buying spree as part of the government's sustained plan to boost domestic consumption during the New Year season, said a senior official on Thursday.
Department of Community Development Director General Nisit Chansomwong disclosed that the trade fair, entitled OTOP City Happy Market 2018, has made more than 608 million baht (about 18.42 million U.S. dollars) in sales during the first five days.
OTOP is an acronym for One Tambon (community), One Product, which refers to varieties of indigenous goods manufactured by local villagers in all regions of the country.
The department has forecast the sales of the 10-day trade fair, which is currently organized until the upcoming Sunday at Muang Thong Thani exhibition and trade center on Bangkok's northern outskirts, to total one billion baht (about 30.3 million U.S. dollars), Nisit said.
More than 3,000 OTOP vendors are participating in the trade fair with over 20,000 categories of indigenous goods, such as clothing, decorative and handicraft items, foods and jewelry items.
The department chief confirmed that receipts of purchases of those OTOP items can be filed to the Revenue Department for a maximum of 15,000 baht (about 454.5 U.S. dollars) in rebate to personal income tax.
