Call for joint organic exports

"Thailand and Asean have high potential to become major suppliers of organic farm goods with value-added prices," Commerce Minister Kittirat na Ranong said at the "Organic Symposium 2011" in Bangkok, adding that export of organic products should grow by 20 per cent a year, the same as the global figure.

Thai exports of organic products have grown more gradually than that, by 10 per cent annually, exceeding US$5 billion (Bt150 billion) this year on rising demand from health-conscious consumers.

Kittirat said the government would tighten cooperation with neighbouring countries on export of organic farm products and processed organic products. He said countries in Asean, particularly Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam, had high potential to become major suppliers of such products because they had land available to produce them.

According to Organic Monitor, a research and business consulting company specialising in organic products, and The World of Organic Agriculture, a yearbook edited by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture in cooperation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, the global value of organic farm products was $55 billion in 2009. That figure is expected to grow by 20 per cent a year on rising demand.

More than 50 per cent of organic-products trading is in Europe and 45 per cent in North America. Asia has only 2 per cent of the organic market. However, that figure is expected to increase significantly given rising incomes and strong economic growth in Asia.

John Thogersen, a lecturer at Aarhus University in Denmark, said organic agriculture had grown rapidly in the past three decades and had shown respectable growth even during economic recession. The large and increasing import of organic food to Europe and North America presented attractive export opportunities for countries like Thailand.

Moreover, he said demand for organic food had also grown in large Asian cities. To promote more organic farming and raise export value, Thogersen suggested that Thailand build up the image of its products, increase the effectiveness of its certification and control systems, enter the market through the right retail channels, and develop narratives about Thai organic producers and production.

Apart from export opportunities, the government plans to promote more consumption of organic products in the domestic market as a strategy to boost farmers' incomes.

To promote growth in organic farming, it will support establishment of organic plantation areas and increase the number of organic-products enterprises.

Thailand has 118,091 rai (18,895 hectares) of organic farming area. There are 5,000 organic farmers. The value of the domestic organic market is expected to reach $132 million this year, up by 10 per cent over 2010.