Vorravuth with the Prime Minister’s Award for Best Exporter, and one of the firm’s products.

The company markets mainly packaged rice and bean noodles here and abroad under its Kaset brand. The company has set a sales target of about Bt1.2 billion this year.

Since starting exporting seven years ago, overseas orders now account for 40 per cent of sales.

The firm hopes to balance export and domestic sales soon to stabilise revenue and reduce risks from both markets.

Deputy managing director Vorravuth Tangpiroonthum said last week that the company's strengths were high quality, Thai style and agility.

The company's first-half sales were up 43 per cent to Bt600 million even though the Kingdom's total rice exports dropped by 2 per cent, due to stiff global competition among rice producers facing lacklustre demand for rice and other commodities in the world market.

The company has turned to promoting the natural and healthy aspects of its products.

"People tend to be concerned more about their health, so promoting healthy foods is the approach to reach consumers," Vorravuth said.

Thai Ha handles a variety of items made from natural products, such as jasmine rice, ready-to-cook jasmine rice with cereal, bean noodles, and tapioca starch.

The firm is the country's largest jasmine rice supplier in the modern trade, with a share of about 15 per cent.

Besides Kaset, the company also ships its products under the Happy, Imperial Taste, and Smart Chef brands to more than 55 countries. Europe, the United States and Asia are its major buyers overseas.

Since foreigners are not familiar with rice, the company builds product knowledge by demonstrating cooking methods directly in its target markets.

Vorravuth said stressing high quality and good health of the company's merchandise attracted customers.

"We try to promote our products under the concept of minimising the costs of thinking, which means we will prepare for them the most convenient way of cooking, out of concern of our customers' health," he said.

Product development efforts are aimed at creating value-added, nutritious rice mixed with cereals in a range of packaging that is convenient for cooking.

Rising prices of rice and oil as well as other manufacturing factors have driven up production costs by more than 30 per cent.

But rather than hike retail prices, management has striven to prune production costs and recruit trading partners.

"We don't want to pass the cost burden onto consumers so we have to seek partners to share our transportation costs," Vorravuth said.

The company has set up Cheer Trading as a distributing arm for both its own and its partners' products.

"The cooperation in transportation for both domestic and overseas markets can help the company save at least 20 per cent," he said.

On the production front, management is placing greater emphasis on organic cultivation.

"We have encouraged more than 150 contract farmers nationwide to use bio-fertilisers and chemical-free growing methods for their crops. This should ensure that our rice and other products will be safe from chemicals and should help decrease costs in the long run," he said.

Next year's strategic plan calls for launching two products and expanding to 60 the number of countries it exports to, including Russia and nations in Africa and East Europe.

The company would harvest traditional markets by introducing new items while exploring new potential markets for its offerings.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation