BANGKOK, 8 May 2014, – Mr. Sarasin Weerapol, Deputy Managing Director of the CP Group, suggests that Thailand is ready to become an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) food hub, claiming the kingdom has only to improve on material production technology.
The CP Group’s senior officer’s comment came during a seminar on the theme ‘Thailand as the central AEC food hub’ organized by Thammasat University’s ASEAN Study Center, where he suggested both related governmental units and the private sector support the food industry, by formulating development strategies, such as establishing a fund to assist operators in the food industry and to back various food production initiatives.
He said despite the fact that Thailand’s food industry has a rather challenging future, the sector does have good credentials with long established expertise, adding that the demand for food would always grow in line with the world’s population.
According to Mr. Sarasin, in 20 years the world population would likely jump from 7 billion to 9 billion. He said that meanwhile agricultural land may be dedicated to other uses, making the possibility of food shortages very likely. However the issue can be addressed with the use of technology to increase the productivity and food supply stability.
Mr. Sarasin voiced his opinion that Thailand should spearhead the development of such technology in order to stay on top in always providing its people with sufficient to eat, while giving itself the upper hand in food trading with other countries.
