Thai food exports to China expanded 50 per cent in 2021
Thailand remains the 13th largest food exporter in the world, unchanged from the previous year, the Chamber of Commerce of Thailand said yesterday.
Poj Aramwattananon, vice chairman of the chamber, said that measures to ease the lockdown of trading partner countries had helped the economy recover. The depreciation of the baht also have made Thai food products more competitive in price.
It is expected that in 2022, the Thai food export sector will still have to overcome the inflationary barrier, whether from agricultural product prices, energy prices, or transportation costs, leading to a decline in consumer purchasing power, while the cost of goods would increase.
Visit Limlurcha, President of Thai Food Processors Association, said that Thai food exports in 2021 were valued at 1.107 trillion baht, an increase of 11.8 per cent over the previous year.
Thailand’s global market share, however, dropped to 2.30 per cent from 2.32 per centt in 2020. Most of Thailand's food export markets in 2021 expanded, except the United States, Africa, Oceania and the United Kingdom.
Currently China is Thailand's No. 1 food export market, making up 24.5 per cent of food exports, valued at 271.674 billion baht, an increase of 50 per cent from the previous year, mainly from fresh fruit and cassava starch exports, followed by Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam in the region, and Japan.
Thai food exports in 2022 are expected to be worth 1.2 trillion baht, an increase of 8.4 per cent, which will be a new record.
