|
Home > NewsCenter > MarketTrade > Content |
| Trade brings Thai kitchen to China |
|
|
By: Ananth Krishnan(Shanghai Daily)
Sep 02,2008 |
AN increasing demand for agricultural products on the Chinese mainland is driving trade between China and Thailand, with the sector growing by 35 percent last year.
More than 30 percent of the trade volume between the two countries comes from the agricultural sector. With increasing inflation and rising food prices creating the need for more food imports into the mainland, the Thai government is looking to capitalize on this growing demand and further expand its agricultural exports into China.
"Developing our agricultural trade with China is without doubt the focus of our trade relationship," Sompong Nimchuar, the minister counselor for agriculture in the Thai government, told Shanghai Daily. Nimchuar was recently in Shanghai to promote Thai food products to local importers at a Thai Expo in the city.
"Inflation, particularly rising food prices, has been a growing problem because of a lack of supply of agricultural products and an increased use of agricultural products as biofuels," Nimchuar said.
"With consequences of climate change like increased flooding, agricultural production in some big food exporting countries like India and Vietnam has been affected, and they have been forced to limit exports to the world market. Thailand has not had this problem, so we are in a very good position as food exporters to the world market."
Agricultural trade between China and Thailand has been steadily growing since the two countries agreed a Free Trade Agreement in 2003 that completely removed import tariffs on some 200 fruits and vegetables. China is Thailand's second biggest trade partner after the United States. Trade between the two countries is expected to cross US$50 billion in the next two years.
Thailand's biggest export to China is natural rubber. The country exported US$2 billion worth of rubber last year. In recent years, China has also begun importing large quantities of tapioca from Thailand, which is used as a raw material in the production of ethanol and biofuel. Thailand also exports large amounts of rice, seafood and fresh and processed fruit.
"You can say we have a vision of bringing the Thai kitchen to the Chinese household," said Phaichit Viboontanasarn, the director of the commercial consul to the Royal Thai Consulate General in Shanghai.
"With the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, we are really making an effort to promote Thai food products in China. We are already exporting a wide range of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, and what we are trying to do through the Expo is spread the popularity of Thai cuisine through cooking workshops and food festivals. So far, the response has been great."
Viboontanasarn said that while the rapid growth in trade in the last couple of years was "encouraging," he believed Sino-Thai trade was still just at the tip of the iceberg.
"With the Free Trade Agreement and vast improvements in logistic systems in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as a whole, such as the development of the ASEAN highway, logistic costs are continually decreasing," he said. "This will ensure that trade will keep growing."
While agricultural products are still the core of the Sino-Thai trade relationship, trade between the two countries has also begun to diversify beyond agriculture.
One example is the steadily rising demand for Thai handicrafts in China's more prosperous cities. "While we have so far largely only been exporting our products to European markets, there has been a noticeable change in the last couple of years," said Pattanandha Pongampai, the chief commercial officer of The Support Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand (SACICT).
SACICT is a government agency set up under a special initiative of the Queen of Thailand to promote Thailand's handicraft industry overseas. SACICT primarily supports Thai farmers, helping them earn a second source of income by finding a market for the handicrafts they make.
"With the rapid economic growth in China, our biggest new market is high-income groups in cities like Shanghai and Beijing," Pongampai said.
However, continuing political instability in Thailand is still hampering further trade. "For Chinese businesses looking to invest in Thailand, the politics is a bit of a problem," Viboontanasarn said.
| |
| |
|
|
|
