Thailand to turn global food security crisis into opportunity

Chanthanon Wannakhajorn, secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), says that Thailand, a major global food producer, is ready to face the food security crisis. He is confident that Thailand produces enough food like rice, cassava, palm oil, pork, chicken, and eggs, he added.

“Thailand has readied itself by setting up systems through the National Food Council, which is responsible for directing the nation’s food policy. By collaborating with the Council to work through all dimensions, we will turn this crisis into an opportunity for Thailand to push more agricultural and food exports,” he said.

In the first three months of 2023, Thailand saw trade in agricultural products and natural rubber to other Asean nations of 148.736 billion baht, an increase of 4.18% over the previous year of 101.062 billion baht.

The main agricultural exports were sugar (brown and white), energy drinks, rice, non-alcoholic drinks such as UHT milk and soy milk, food products such as tofu, powdered alcohol and non-dairy creamer, natural latex, dog and cat food, sauces and condiments for sauces like flavouring powders, fish sauce, oyster sauce, chilli sauce, instant soups, and certain food additives for pets.

In 2022, Thailand imported foodstuff valued at 47.674 billion baht, a 2.81% decrease from the previous year. The main imports consisted of cassava and its products, popcorn kernels, and corn for human and animal consumption. Other imported food products included tofu, powdered alcohol, non-dairy creamer, tobacco/cigarettes, baby food, plant-based oils from soy, corn, coconut, and peanut, canned tuna, biscuits, and pastries. Live cattle were also imported.

Overall, Thailand still has an advantage over trade in Asean. The first three months of this year saw trade valued at 53.387 billion baht, an increase of 19.53% from the previous year.

Chanthanon said “Thailand is still maintaining agricultural exports well and is benefiting from the increased price of agricultural commodities and processed food. Thailand’s favourable terrain is conducive to agriculture, providing a level of food security and enabling production for domestic consumption and exports.”

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is taking steps to improve food security by creating a comprehensive database. Additionally, the OAE is developing a provincial crop calendar specific to each province, which will help estimate the amount and type of agricultural products available each month and aid in managing food security during normal times and crises.

Factoring in nutritional value, agricultural produce exports for the past three years include

carbohydrates like rice, of which 20.67 million tonnes are produced on average per year with 6.48 million tonnes exported, leaving 12.27 for domestic consumption. For cassava, 31.72 million tonnes are produced, 6.67 million tonnes of derived products are exported, and 11.83 million tonnes are consumed domestically.

For fats, an average of 16.52 million tonnes of palm oil is produced annually, of which 489,427 tonnes are exported and 1.25 million tonnes are consumed domestically.

As for protein, an average of 14.97 billion eggs are produced annually, 250 million are exported and the rest are consumed domestically. An average of 2.63 million chickens are produced annually, 1.57 million are consumed domestically and 903,584 tonnes are exported. An average of 1.92 million tonnes of pork is produced annually, 1.34 million tonnes is consumed domestically and 23,168 tonnes is exported.

However, corn-derived animal feed must be imported from neighbouring countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Soybeans, which are used for processing food, oil, and animal feed, must be imported from the United States and Brazil. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has caused a shortage of these products.