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4 Aug 2010

Agriculture

Vegetables, Fruits and Products 2010: FTA Boosting Exports, Import Upsurge Cautioned (Business Brief No.2898)

คะแนนเฉลี่ย
Thai vegetables, fruits and products thereof have evidently benefited from rising exports, especially after the implementation of many FTA agreements. In 1H10, our exports of this product category grew 13.6 percent YoY to USD1.234 billion.
On the import front, brighter opportunities exist for Thailand's FTA partners seeking to expand their shipments of these products here using FTA privileges, as well. During 1H10, Thai imports of vegetables, fruits and products thereof rose to USD335.77 million, a YoY increase of 26.2 percent, due largely to increasing shipments of fruits and products as well as vegetable and fruit juice concentrates. Thai operators should thus brace for stiffer competition to come.

A major concern has arisen that most of those import shipments were vegetable and fruit juice concentrates–the main processing component of ready-to-drink products. This must then be a direct blow to domestic vegetable and fruit growers. Even worse, they may eventually be hit even harder by an influx of such Chinese consumer products, especially since the Chinese government instituted higher production standards to revive sagging consumer confidence toward Chinese food products in the wake of recent food safety scandals.

Agriculture