InfoQuest (March 30, 2020) -- Ms. Onmon Sapthawitham, director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN), revealed that due to Covid-19, people in many countries need to purchase food with long storage time, such as dry and canned foods; that means opportunities for Thailand, a global powerhouse of instant food, which holds huge production potential; Thailand is the world's second largest exporter of canned food and processed seafood after China; Thailand can increase the export of instant food based on the demand of global market and by using FTA preferential rights. Thailand has signed 13 FTAs with 18 countries and has 15 FTA trading partners, such as ASEAN, China, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru and Hong Kong; Import duties on all canned and processed seafood products have been removed in Thailand. Japan, Korea and India still impose import duties on some products.
According to Ms. Onmon, in the past, FTAs have boosted the export growth of Thai canned food and processed seafood products. In 2019, Thailand exported a total of 3.775 billion U.S. dollars of canned food and processed seafood products to global market, up 227 percent as against the volume before its first FTA with ASEAN was signed in 1992. Thailand's top five trading partners are Japan, Australia, ASEAN, Peru, and Korea. Among Thai exports, canned tuna accounts for 57 percent, the largest share, followed by canned and processed shrimp 19 percent, processed fish 9 percent and canned sardines 4 percent.
In 2019, Thailand exported a total of 1.407 billion U.S. dollars of canned food and processed seafood products to 18 FTA trading partner countries, accounting for 37 percent of its total exports. Since FTAs took effect, Thailand's exports of canned food and processed seafood products to all FTA trading partner countries have increased; among which, the growth margin of its export to China is 4,457 percent, the highest, followed by Peru 2088 percent, ASEAN 613 percent, Korea 246 percent, and Australia 114 percent. Those data are consistent with data of the priority products Thai enterprises applied for FTA export preferential rights.
"Though the demand increase for canned food and processed seafood products amid the epidemic may be a short-term phenomenon, the market of those products still shows a trend of sustained growth, thanks to the increasing demand of global consumers for aquatic products. Therefore, Thai fishing operators should enhance product quality and security and improve fishing methods by following international rules and standards, so as to sharpen competitive edge and grow Thailand into one of the largest producers and exporters of seafood worldwide," said Ms. Onmon.
Source: InfoQuest, by Phana/Tanawat/Rachada, translated by Xinhua Silk Road
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A single purchase
