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3 Nov 2006

Agriculture

Thai Horticultural Crops: Earning More than USD2 Billion in Exports(Business Brief No.1893)

คะแนนเฉลี่ย
Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2006 was officially launched on November 1, 2006 and will last until January 31, 2007. The flora show will bring much repute to Thailand and pave the way for greater awareness of Thai horticultural crops in the international markets. This will definitely be a boon to exports of Thai horticultural crops and products in the future. The event also showcases Thailand's technological advancements in horticulture that are second to none while serving as a forum for the exchange of latest horticultural technologies between Thailand and other countries.
Horticultural crops, in this article, refer to fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs and spices as well as flowers and ornamental plants[1]. Other than serving as food, they can also bring pleasure to growers. The crops which can be cultivated in every region of Thailand have long played an important role in Thais' daily lives and the national economy. During the first nine months of 2006, exports of Thai horticultural crops totaled USD1.817 billion (equivalent to THB69.771 billion), rising by 18.4 percent, year-on-year. During the past five years, exports of Thai horticultural crops were on the rise, from USD1.28 billion (or THB56.941 billion) in 2001 to USD2.02 billion (THB81.376 billion) in 2005. Notably, exports of all types of horticultural crops including flowers, ornamental plants, fruits, vegetables and preparations of vegetables and fruits have expanded steadily over the past five years. The expansion could be attributed to cooperation between the government and growers to overcome production-and marketing-related obstacles and hindrances and to steadily penetrate other markets. Thai horticultural crops are thus recognized in the world's markets in terms of their quality and production standard. In addition, bright prospects seem to lie ahead for Thai herbs which have been grown on a commercial basis to supply to herb-based product plants. Thai-made herbal products clearly have vast marketing potential, with expected high growth both in markets at home and abroad.
However, exports of Thai horticultural crops in 2005 accounted for only 1.6 percent of the global market turnover of these crops totaling USD124.262 billion. Still, Thailand is currently on the list of top exporters of tropical horticultural crops, i.e., cut orchids, canned baby corn, canned sweet corn and canned pineapple. These include other popular tropical fruits with unique taste like durians, longans, mangosteens, mangoes and pomaloes.

[1] Excluding industrial horticultural crops, e.g., rubber, oil palms, coffee, tea, cocoa, etc.

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