Thailand to host 20th ACCSQ-PFPWG

BANGKOK, February 24 (TNA) - Thailand will host the 20th ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standard and Quality (ACCSQ) for Prepared Foodstuff Product Working Group (PFPWG) in Bangkok next month, paving the way for the Kingdom to become a leading market of the product after the ASEAN Community (AC) is formed by the end of this year. Pisarn Pongsapit, Deputy Secretary-General of Thailand's National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS), told a press conference on Tuesday that Thailand is a world major agricultural country where various farm products, namely vegetables and fruits, have been produced for exports for a long time and, before the AC is formed, Thailand will host the 20th ACCSQ-PFPWG next month, in which delegations of all 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will participate. Pisarn said a regional agreement on the reciprocal recognition of product standards within the 10-member bloc will be drafted at the meeting, before it will be forwarded to the ASEAN Economic Ministers Retreat for an approval in mid-2015, after which it will take effect over the next 1-2 years. As the host of the upcoming regional gathering, the senior official noted, Thailand eyes to not only become an ASEAN leading market of the product, but also attract more investment of the product and boost its exports after the AC is established, as Thailand has potential in raw material sources and production bases in all parts of the country. (TNA)