|
GMO labeling to begin May 11
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will
enforce the labeling of 22 products containing genetically modified
organisms (GMO) from May 11, with fines starting at 30,000 baht for
companies violating the new rules.
The FDA’s deputy secretary-general Dr Sathaporn
Wongcharoen said that the FDA made its decision to introduce GMO labeling
after several meetings brought together the public, private sectors and
academia, together with public hearings designed to record the views of
ordinary members of the public and the media.
Twenty two listed products made from GM sweet corn or soy
beans must be labeled as such if the GM products in question are among the
top three ingredients, and if the GM content is more than 5 percent. The
ministerial announcement also bans the use of labeling suggesting that a
product is GM-free.
Dr Sathaporn said, "If food manufacturers are unsure
of whether or not their products are covered by the new regulations they can
send samples of their goods to the National Science and Technology
Development Agency, Ministry of Public Health, or the Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperatives for analysis."
The FDA will work together with provincial health
authorities to collect food samples from local shops and markets to check
that they are labeled correctly. (TNA)
Automobile production
to hit record high
Thailand’s automobile production looks like it could
set a new record this year.
Figures from the National Statistical Office show that
car ownership in the year 2000 stood at 20 percent in the provinces and 32.6
percent in Bangkok. A report recently issued by Thai Farmers Research Center
(TFRC) states that Thailand’s flourishing automobile industry has
potential for enormous growth.
TRFC said domestic economic conditions and consumer
purchasing power were the most important determinants to domestic car sales.
The economic crisis of the late 1990’s showed that consumers’ spending
patterns were fragile when it came to purchasing automobiles, which led car
sales to nosedive, especially in 1998, when car sales plunged 60 percent.
But this volatility also means that car sales saw a rapid
revival as the economy picked up, with a 37.8 percent increase in 2002.
Low interest rates combined with the expanding economy
are likely to push domestic car sales up to 500,000 and increase total car
production to an unprecedented 700,000 units. (TNA)
ASEAN pushes for free trade with 5 outsiders
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is
speeding up negotiations that may end with free trade areas opened up with
five other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and is hoping to sign a
trade deal with the United States at the end of this year.
Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik announced that during
a recent informal meeting of ASEAN economic ministers it was acknowledged
that there is a need to forge ahead with the negotiation on the Free Trade
Agreement between ASEAN and China, India, Vietnam, the United States and
Japan.
The commerce minister said, "Negotiations are
progressing. Some members including the Philippines were reluctant to open
an FTA with China, but have now softened their stance."
Manila was unwilling to allow China to ship fruits and
vegetables into the country since it was afraid that their local farmers
would be affected by the opening of FTA.
Dr Adisai said he believes leaders of ASEAN members
nations will be able to sign an FTA agreement with the US during the summit
to be held later this year.
The meeting discussed the possible impact from the
US-Iraq war and the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on
ASEAN and plans to hold talks with the European Union’s Trade Committee on
ways to boost economic cooperation.
An issue of EU’s strict examination of Thailand’s
food imports was highlighted in the discussion. (TNA)
MOF concedes war and SARS
will affect GDP growth
Finance Minister Capt Suchart Jaovisidh has conceded the
war in the Middle East and the epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
could affect the economy to such an extent that the estimate of gross
domestic product growth may have to be revised. He said the two events would
definitely have an impact on the Thai economy. The Fiscal Policy Office has
been instructed to closely monitor the situation since the two events are
external factors, which are beyond the government’s control.
Capt Suchart said the outbreak of SARS in Asia is having
more impact than the war between the United States and Iraq.
The real effects of the war in the Middle East on
Thailand’s the economy is still to be analyzed. But the effect of SARS
epidemic has been already felt on tourism and other related businesses.
The country’s state revenue could be affected if the
epidemic worsens, but for now, revenue collection for the month of March was
around two billion baht higher than originally estimated.
Praphat Pothivorakul, chairman of the Federation of Thai
Industries, said the SARS epidemic had not obviously affected the industrial
sector. What should be closely monitored now was the slowdown in tourism
because it could reduce purchasing power both locally and overseas, and
finally have an impact on the sector.
Total production and purchase orders from overseas were
not adversely affected by the war. However, goods delivery did slow down. (TNA)
Finance Ministry wants to fast-track disbursement of state budgets
Deputy Finance Minister Varathep Rattanakorn recently met
with senior officials from 21 state agencies to discuss ways to solve
problems relating to the slow disbursement of state budgets.
According to Varathep during the second quarter of this
fiscal year’s budget spending was 6.5 percent lower than the target set by
the ministry. "The government would like all state agencies and state
enterprises to disburse at least 92 percent of the total budget set for this
fiscal year," he said.
Varathep said one of the problems that slowed down budget
spending was the bureaucratic reforms undertaken at the start of the fiscal
year. Formation of new government ministries and departments resulted in a
slowdown in state budget disbursement.
The minister explained that local administrative
organizations across the nation had been caught off guard and did not
prepare their rural development proposals soon enough which accounted for a
combined allotment of 26.5 billion baht. (TNA)
Hemaraj welcomes MIDA group on visit to Detroit of The East
Hemaraj
Land and Development Plc. welcomed Tan Sri Zainal Abidin Sulong, chairman of
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) and delegations from the
Embassy of Malaysia during their visit to view the infrastructure and
facility of Thailand’s "Detroit of the East" - Eastern Seaboard
Industrial Estate (Rayong). The group also visited Ingress Autoventure and
Clarion Electronic (Thailand) Co. Ltd.
Thai Chamber of Commerce wants a review of AFTA tax breaks
The deputy president of the Thai Chamber of Commerce has
called on the government to review the tax concessions offered to countries
in the Asian Free Trade Area, saying that countries outside the AFTA region
were using tax loopholes to get their goods into Thailand cheaply.
Wirot Amtakulachai, who also acts as a member of the
Ministry of Commerce’s committee to determine import measures, said that
he will call on the committee to review its criteria for offering tax
concessions to six nations in the AFTA grouping, which the Ministry of
Commerce could use as a framework for trade negotiations with these
countries.
He expressed concern that under the present regulations
countries outside the grouping could use loopholes to get their goods into
Thailand cheaply, citing the case of a European brand of whisky which was
imported into the Philippines in gallon barrels, then rebottled in the
Philippines and sold in Thailand. This enabled the European producer to gain
AFTA tax breaks, reducing the tariff from 61% to only 5%, forcing Thailand
to lose 2.27 billion baht in tax revenue a year.
Wirot voiced fear that the same method might be used for
other products in the future, such as perfumes and clothing and would lead
to a huge loss of revenue for Thailand.
Under present AFTA regulations, AFTA members can use one
of two criteria for determining eligibility for tax concessions, either by
demonstrating that over 40% of raw materials are domestic in origin, or by
considering the processing of goods. However, AFTA members have opted to use
the first criteria, and this opens up legal loopholes for other countries to
sneak in their goods through the back door.
Wirot said that the second criteria, used by the US and
the EU, would help close such legal loopholes, and urged the government to
adopt it in order to ensure that Thailand did not lose its competitive
advantage on the global stage. (TNA)
Thai trade promotion office in Rome tells government to push rice in EU markets
Thailand’s Office of Trade Promotion in Rome is urging
the government to push more Thai rice onto European Union markets, calling
on Thai exporters to build up a global brand image for Thai food exports.
While data on rice imports to the EU is hazy, statistics
seem to suggest that last year the EU imported rice valued at a total of
around 1 billion euros from around the world, with France leading the way in
imports of rice from Thailand, which last year were worth around 32 million
euros.
The trade office has asked the Thai government to further
penetrate EU markets by creating a new base of importers in target countries
such as the Netherlands. At the same time they want to build a reputation
for Thai rice on the world stage. It was suggested the printing "Food
from Thailand" on packages of Thai rice will emphasize the uniqueness
of Thai rice strains. (TNA)
Thai fruits still enjoy great popularity in Hong Kong
The Office of Thai Trade Promotion in Hong Kong reported
that the outbreak of SARS on the island state has affected many economic
sectors but so far Thai fruits have remained popular among local consumers
who are mostly Chinese people.
No negative effect on the Thai fruit market has been
registered even though the epidemic has hit other industries.
The Thai fruits which are most popular include durians,
mangosteens, rambutans, and longans. Thai durians and longans are
particularly popular among consumers in Hong Kong, as the fruits are
believed to help warm their bodies and make them healthy. (TNA)
Thai products have promising prospects in Japanese market
Japanese consumers are turning to Thai food imports amid
fears over artificial additives and chemical residues in Chinese products,
according to a report from Thailand’s Office of Trade Promotion in Osaka.
Last year Japanese imports totaled US$337.5 billion, down
3.34 percent on the previous year’s figures, as economic malaise took
hold, with only two countries in Japan’s list of top ten importers - China
and Germany - recording a rise in import figures.
But Thailand, in 11th place, looks set to take off as one
of Japan’s chief importers, with imports last year worth US$10.5 billion,
up 1.39 percent.
Despite the fact that overall imports of meat fell by
9.44 percent, imports of meat from Thailand were up a stunning 38.49 percent
last year, worth US$357 million.
Imports of Thai seafood fell by 0.82 percent, but this
drop was lower than the 1.44 percent recorded for total seafood imports;
while imports of dairy products, eggs and honey from Thailand rose 14.38
percent, compared to a rise of 0.94 percent overall.
Imports of seafood last year netted Thailand US$635
million; while those of dairy products, eggs and honey brought in US$14.79
million.
Thai food products with a high potential in the Japanese
market include processed chicken products, frozen chicken and giblets,
frozen fish fillets, frozen squid, canned tuna, pet food and duck.
The rise in chicken and duck imports is attributed to
their relatively low price. Japanese consumers are turning to them as their
own economy contracts. Young Japanese people are also becoming interested in
food from around the world and Thai food is proving extremely popular.
But the report warned that a number of products,
including canned and frozen prawns were facing increased competition in the
Japanese market, as Japanese consumers turned away from high-priced products
in favor of cheaper alternatives.
In the past, Thai importers tried to avoid competition
with China and Vietnam by adding value to their products, but Japanese
consumers are no longer in a position to spend such high sums.
Thai producers and exporters are advised to research new
food products to push onto the Japanese market, and to build up safe and
high quality food production systems with the backing of clear government
policies. (TNA)
|
