Business deals worth 5bn baht expected at Bangkok hemp trade fair

Pornchai Padmindra, president of TIHTA, said the Asia International Hemp Expo 2022 would be organised from November 30 to December 3 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre by the TIHTA and its Thai and foreign partners.

The fair will be held under the theme “Hemp for All”.

The second International Hemp Environmental Forum will be held in parallel with the trade fair, Pornchai added.

He said the event would be a good opportunity for people interested in hemp businesses from the upstream to downstream levels to meet one another to exchange knowledge and try to cut business deals.

Pornchai said representatives of hemp industries from 25 countries would be present during the trade fair, which is expected to be visited by some 15,000 people.

He said the trade fair is expected to generate some 5 billion baht in business deals.

The event will feature two main activities:

- A trade expo with over 300 leading firms taking part to present technologies and innovations for hemp cultivation and product processing. The expo also will display foods, drinks, fashion accessories, cosmetics, supplementary diets, spa and herbal products made from hemp.

- An academic forum will be held under the theme of new innovation landscape. Pornchai said Thailand will host the forum with 38 speakers from 15 countries in six continents. The speakers will talk about innovations and know-how of hemp industries.

Pornchai said hemp can be used not only in medical and healthcare and food and beverage industries, but the plants can also be used in several other industries to conserve energy and reduce heat and temperature.

For example, BMW, Porsche and Benz have started using supercapacitors made from hemp-based carbon nanosheets, Pornchai said. As a result, Thai growers of hemp and operators of hemp-related businesses can expand their markets.

Pornchai said the hemp industry in Thailand started in early 2021 and it has expanded to generate revenue of some 3 billion baht to 5 billion baht from medical and healthcare businesses as well as food, beverage and fashion items.

“Currently, the global market value of hemp-related products is worth almost one trillion baht,” Pornchai said.

He added Thailand was now the leader in hemp trade in Asia and could emerge as a world leader in hemp products soon with new innovations.

He said he expected the hemp market in Thailand would grow to be worth about 40 billion to 50 billion baht in the next few years.

The TIHTA president also called on the government to come up with a clear-cut direction and supportive measures for the private sector to develop hemp innovations and businesses with sustainability.