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About the Thai Publishing Industry 2008
   
 
About the Thai Publishing Industry 2008

      The publishing business plays an important role in supporting education and learning in Thailand, especially amongst the younger population who will play an important role in the development of the country.  The publishing business in Thailand has grown in terms of quantity, types of published materials, and in market value. Also the number of bookstores and small outlets in convenient stores has increased, allowing more access for Thai consumers. Business growth, however, declined rate for the fourth consecutive year in 2008, due to the economic and political situations in the country. The publishing business has grown at a rate of not less than 10% since 2003, apart from a small decline in 2006 due to the political uncertainty. The value of trade book sales in 2007 stood at US$ 523 million, with sales in 2008 being estimated at around US$ 540 million, a large part coming from the sales of 86 large and medium sized publishing houses. The rest being made up at 426 small sized publishers, who were registered members of the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand.

      The number of titles launched to bookstores per month in 2008 was around 1,112 titles, which is five to ten times lower than that of developed countries. It is estimated that Thai people read only 2 books for pleasure per year, and spend approximately US$ 8.56 on books each year. These figures show that Thailand is still far behind the so-called developed countries in terms of the number of new titles launched, as well as in Thai reading habits, as shown by the number of books read and the amount of money spent on books.

      The year 2009 presents another challenge for the book business as the Thai economy continues to retract. According to one estimate, the Thai economy will take another 2-3 years to recover, as competition in the market gets increasingly. The market value of the book business in Thailand in 2009 is expected to grow by only 1% (to around US$ 546-549 million), with the number of new titles being launched increasing, even though some small publishing houses may be forced with the closure.

      Despite these challenges, the children and the youth market still present opportunities for fiction, novels and cartoons, whilst working people are showing a substantial level of interest in books about applied dharma principles and self-development.
 
 


Some interesting figures regarding the publishing business:

Table 1 Number of publishers and bookstores in Thailand


Category

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Publishers*

433

475

492

491

512

Bookstores**

759

848

955

1,913

 2,483

Total

1,192

1,323

1,447

2,404

2,995

Note:   * registered members of PUBAT
** From Se-ed Bookstore’s report

The number of registered publishers in the year 2008 increased by 21 over the previous year’s figure (an increase of 4.27%) which reflects the business opportunities and ease of market entry. At the same time, the numbers of bookstores in 2007 and 2008 leapt by 100.31% and 29.79% respectively. The introduction of “Book Smile”, which occupies a small space in the 7-11 chain stores, in 2007 has contributed mainly to the dramatic increase.

Table 2 Trend of the number of publishers categorized by size (according to revenue)


Category

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008 ****

Large Publishing Houses*

25

30

36

36

36

Medium Publishing Houses**

54

65

61

50

50

Small Publishing Houses***

354

380

395

405

426

Total

433

475

492

491

512

Note:   *Revenue of more than US$ 2.85 million
**Revenue of more than US$ 860,000.-
***Revenue of less than US$ 860,000.-
****Forecasted

The decreasing rates of revenue had a big impact on small and medium sized publishing houses, as witnessed by a significant decrease in the number of medium sized publishing houses in 2007; as one third of the publishing houses have suffered from reduced sales revenue. However, it is estimated that the numbers of large and medium sized publishers will remain the same in 2008, whilst small sized publishers will account for 4/5 of all publishing houses in Thailand.

 

Table 3 Revenue of publishing houses in Thailand (in US$ million)


Category

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008*

Large Publishing Houses

214.28

248.57

302.86

322.86

334.29

Medium Publishing Houses

100.00

120.00

120.00

125.71

128.57

Small Publishing Houses

60.00

60.00

80.00

74.29

77.14

Total

374.28

428.57

502.86

522.86

540.00

Note:   * Forecasted

Estimated figures in 2008 showed that the growth of revenue from book sales in 2008 would be driven mainly by the medium and large sized publishing houses. Total sales revenue in 2008 is expected to reach $540 million compared to $522.86 billion in 2007, an increase of approximately 3.28%.  

Table 4 Number of new titles launched from 2004 to 2008*


Category

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

New titles/year

11,103

11,651

14,605

13,429

13,348

New titles/day

30.4

31.9

40.1

36.79

36.57

Note:   * Based on the Se-ed Book Center database

The number of new titles launched dropped for two consecutive years in 2008, as publishers became more cautious in their production, due to the sluggish economy.

Table 5 Number of titles launched per publisher from 2004 to 2008


Category

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

New titles/year

11,103

11,651

14,605

13,429

13,348

No. of Publishers

433

475

492

491

512

New titles/publisher/year

25.64

24.53

29.68

27.35

26.07

Despite continued growth in the numbers of publishers in the market, the increase in the numbers of new titles launched per publisher is still not substantial, due to the fact that publishers are becoming more selective in choosing to publish only titles that will be popular with the reading public, along with contracted production.

Table 6 Book Revenue to Gross Domestic Product (in US$ million)


Category

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008*

Book Revenue/year

374.28

428.57

502.86

522.86

540.00

GDP

185,813.94

202,941.77

220,463.57

242,666.02

265,419.91

Book revenue to GDP

0.20

0.21

0.22

0.21

0.20

Note:   * Forecasted

According to these figures, it is very obvious that the size of the book business in Thailand accounts for a small percentage of the GDP of the Thai economy.  However, it is important to note that the ratio of book revenue and Thai GDP has remained at around 0.2% over the past five years, despite the economic slowdown. Therefore, it can be concluded that the economic situation has not really had much impact on book sales. Books in particular, are not considered luxury items.  The most important factors influencing book sales in Thailand include the government’s education policy, human resource development policy, the publishers’ own creative abilities, efficient book management, and the strength of networking in the book business.

Table 7 Amount of money spent on books per head (in US$)


Category

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008**

Book expense /year

6.02

6.85

7.43

8.30

8.56

GDP/head*

2,894.40

3,134.17

4,128.57

3,673.26

3,663.97

Book expense/GDP/ head/year

0.21

0.22

0.18

0.22

0.23

Note: * GDP data from the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board and     www.thaistocks.com
** Forecasted

Although the figures show that amount of money spent on books increased gradually despite the drop in GDP between 2006 to 2008, such expenditure accounts for only 0.23% of GDP per head (or only US$8.56 per person), which is very low.

Table 8 Population vs bookstores


Category

2004**

2005

2006

2007

2008***

Population*

61,973,621

62,418,054

62,828,706

63,038,247

63,038,247

Number of bookstores

759

848

955

1,913

2,483

Persons/bookstores

81,651

73,606

67,677

32,952

25,387

Note: * statistical population data from the Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior
          ** Redundant information, reported deaths and changes of address are automatically removed from the online database
          *** Forecasted

Although the number of bookstores has increased substantially over the past five years, they are still very low compared to the total population of Thailand, as shown above. Limited outlet space is one of the factors that limit the number of new bookstores in the market, as well as population access to bookstores. The government should, therefore, come up with new policies to help foster the establishment and growth of new bookstores and book rental stores, in various local areas in the country.

 
       
 
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