Thailand hosts ASEAN forum on food and farm produce standards

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND, September 22 (TNA) - Thailand has organised a regional meeting with four other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss a plan on aligning food and farm produce standards among the five neighbouring countries. Thailand's National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS) hosted the meeting in the northern resort Chiang Mai Province on Monday, in which concerned quality control authorities on food and farm produce of Thai and other four ASEAN member countries, including Myanmar, Lao PDR Cambodia, and Brunei Darussalam, participated. The participants exchanged their experiences on the inspection and issuance of certificates of quality food and farm products, as well as on establishing a common system for certifying imports or exports of food and farm products among the five ASEAN member countries. The meeting, chaired by ACFS Secretary-General Sakchai Sriboonsue, also discussed ways on further developing the production of food and farm products, promoting their cross-border food and farm produce trade and reducing their restrictions on imports and exports of food and agricultural products. The meeting then agreed that their quality control processes of food and farm products, covering their inspection and issuance of certificates, must be transparent and without any discrimination and barrier to be in line with an agreed framework on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), set to be formed by the end of 2015. (TNA)