PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2017

EDITOUR PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 10/17 www.petpla.net 13 EDITOUR 13 ASEAN founding member suffered an economic crash in the 1970s triggered by the world economic crisis, which led to a recession in the mid-1980s and forced the country to make an economic-polit- ical U-turn. The objective was the development of an export indus- try, through which Thailand was to be brought back on course eco- nomically with foreign investments. From time to time, the implementa- tion of this showered the country with sensationally quick economic growth, until the 1997 Asian and Banking Crisis caused an immense collapse in economic performance and help was called for from the IMF and the World Bank. The pain- ful aftermath in the 2000s led to a strengthened political-economic concentration on the domestic market and the modernisation of its infrastructure. Today, Thailand’s economy demonstrates growth of around 3% thanks to busi- ness support, attractive tourism and the infrastructure. And with a forecast 3.5%, it is set to continue this stability. The export economy contributes a significant proportion of this and it can be assumed that this will continue in the long term. The services sector and industry each contribute around 45% to the national product and around 10% falls to agriculture, which has a comparatively high proportion of the workforce of almost 40%. The main products and exports are rubber, pineapple, rice and prawns. In terms of industry and its exports, the automotive market is the larg- est with the majority of production for Japanese manufacturers. The electronics and textile industries, as well as the chemicals sector and the production of steel are likewise significant branches. The most important trade partners are the ASEAN countries, as well as China and Japan. Laos The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is the eastern neighbour of Thailand. It is the only land- locked country in South East Asia and lies between China in the north, Myanmar and Thailand in the west, Cambodia in the south and Vietnam in the east. The majority of the country is mountainous with a highest peak over 2,800m. Its total area is around 237,000km 2 . Along its north-south axis, Laos meas- ures around 1,600km, from east to west it is 400km at the widest point and around 140km at the narrowest point. In comparison to its neighbours, its longest border is with Vietnam at 2,100km. Laos is divided into 17 provinces and one prefecture. The climate is gener- ally tropical and, like Thailand, is influenced by monsoons with dry winters and hot, damp summer months. However, temperatures vary greatly because of the altitude differences. The capital Vientiane lies directly on the border river with Thailand, the Mekong. Around 800,000 of the 7 million inhabitants