Thailand eyes to be among world top five food suppliers

NONTHABURI, THAILAND, May 20 (TNA) - Thailand eyes to be among the world's top five food exporters over the next five years. The official goal was announced on Wednesday morning at the opening of the five-day THAIFEX-World of Food Asia 2015, the biggest food fair in the region, held at Muang Thong Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok. On the occasion, Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said Thailand is now the world's 14th biggest food exporter, but the value of Thai food exports should be among the world's top five over the next five years because the Thai food industry has been growing by at least 10 per cent yearly. Apiradi pointed out that the Thai food industry has earned the country about 24 billion US dollars, or 800 billion baht, annually and has become a significant factor to cushion the national economy. The THAIFEX-World of Food Asia 2015, inaugurated by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha, is set from May 20-24, with the first three days reserved for business negotiations and the rest, May 23-24, for public visits. More than 1,600 local and international companies from 34 countries participate in the five-day event to showcase their food products at more than 4,000 booths, expected to attract up to about 112,000 international visitors, including those from Asian nations, the United States, Australia, the Middle East, Europe and Japan, and to generate a total trade value of about 7.35 billion baht, thanks to the recovering economies of trading partners with their rising food demand. Also in Muang Thong Thani on Wednesday morning, Prime Minister General Prayut called for cooperation from all parties concerned on an overall reform of Thailand's rice business to promote rice quality, rather than quantity, while delivering his speech on rice strategies at the opening session of Thailand Rice Convention 2015. The prime minister stressed that, to make Thai rice globally-known and to boost competitiveness of Thai grains internationally, Thailand's rice business needs comprehensive changes, based on the market mechanism, from cultivation to marketing processes with value addition and water management. The prime minister proposed that Thailand and neighboring countries work together to raise rice prices on the world market. (TNA)