Food exports 'to grow 10.3%'
The National Food Institute (NFI) predicts the value of the country's food exports next year will grow 10.28 per cent from this year, due to improved product quality.
Speaking at the NFI's annual round table, "How the Thai Food Industry Will Survive and Sustain", deputy executive director Yuthasak Supasorn said another supportive factor for the growth of Thai food exports was the economic recovery in Thailand's major markets, including Japan and Europe.He said natural disasters like flooding that had occurred in Thailand meant a reduced supply, and thus farm products, including rice, tapioca and vegetables, had been exported at good prices. But he also said there were some risk factors that Thai exporters should take into consideration, such as oil-prices fluctuations and political turmoil. He said trading costs between countries, especially for transport, had risen, due to high interest rates and rising oil prices. To handle these risk factors, Yuthasak said the government would set up a tractability system for controlling the quality of products from farmers, logistic operators and processed-food manufacturers, all the way through retailers in the agricultural sector. Yuthasak said the main strategy was to emphasise safety in the manufacturing process and good after-sales service, rather than simply competing with a cheaper price. The NFI predicts the volume of food exports will reach 25.82 million tonnes next year, 9.78 per cent above this year's target of 23.52 million tonnes. The value of food exports is expected to be Bt607.06 billion next year or 10.28 per cent higher, compared to the target of Bt550.49 billion this year. Thailand's food exports in the first half of this year was worth Bt259 billion, up 5.9 per cent on year. Thailand's top five food-export markets in the first half were Japan(Bt45.74 billion), the US (Bt44.98 billion), Europe (Bt37.39 billion), Malaysia (Bt9.87 billion) and Australia (Bt6.81 billion). Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul The Nation
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