Govt launches 'smile milk', its own dairy brand
The Foreign Trade Department yesterday launched its own Smile Milk brand of soft ice cream and milk to reduce the oversupply of domestic milk and promote value-added production by dairy farmers.
Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol said the department’s strategy to create its own trademark and brand would encourage dairy farmers to upgrade their products and prop up milk prices.
The Bt20-million project will spend one year testing the concepts with one main shop, two kiosks and two mobile kiosks and recruiting 50 franchisees.
The strategy is also aimed at boosting farmers’ competitiveness ahead of the coming liberalisation of the dairy market under free-trade agreements with many countries, Poom said.
The Smile Milk product was developed in cooperation with Unisearch, a research and development unit of Chulalongkorn University under a budget from the FTA Fund.
The first shop was opened at the Commerce Ministry’s headquarters in Nonthaburi.
The dairy market is worth Bt60 billion per year.
Manus Soiploy, director-general of the department, said the first Smile Milk shop would be a pilot project to test market demand. If successful, the department will |allow dairy farmers to operate |the business as franchisees.
Surasak Riangkrul, deputy director-general, said the project would also help strengthen the dairy industry for the Asean Economic Community.
"Thailand aims to become the hub of dairy farming and the dairy industry under the AEC in 2015. The project will encourage Thai farmers and the industry to develop themselves to compete with other Asean and non-Asean nations," he said.
