FTA Fund helps flower farmers vie overseas

Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department, said the FTA Fund could help flower farmers increase their income and export products overseas after they were helped to develop new species for cut flowers last year.
“Last year, exports of cut flowers were worth Bt200 million. Exports this year should increase as they penetrate the Japan and the Netherlands markets,” she said.
Under the FTA Fund project, flower farmers have been helped in developing new species to compete with other countries’ cut products, mainly from China after the FTA between Thailand and that country reduced tariffs on flower imports.
Flower farmers who have been supported under the project are in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Lamphun and Phichit provinces.

Marketing plan
The FTA Fund previously employed the agriculture faculty at Chiang Mai University to help develop new flower species and draw up a marketing plan for flower farmers. The marketing plan has been focused on Japan, which is Thailand’s largest flower-export market, and the Netherlands, the world’s leading flower producer and exporter.
Three new cut-flower species of orchid have been developed, called Starlet, Pink Melody and Lanna Angel. The FTA Fund has registered these plant varieties for copyright protection. The new species can be grown out of season from October to March; normally the old species were grown in August and September.
The FTA Fund has also helped farmers develop their local business in five communities in Chiang Mai for producing and exporting products. The new flower species have met the GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) and Global GAP standards after the FTA Fund helped develop their production quality and implemented a traceability system.
In the future, the flower-growing communities will be promoted as tourist attractions in the Northern region, Duangporn said.