BANGKOK, 23 March 2011 (NNT) – The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has evaluated that exports of Thai agricultural and food products to disaster-hit Japan are affected only partially and in short term.
According to Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry Spokesperson and Secretary-General of the Office of Agricultural Economics Apichart Jongskul, the evaluation was made on three groups of exports, namely food; rice, tapioca and sugar; and orchids.
On food exports such as pork and chicken, the business should not be much affected while normal orders are expected to resume soon because food products are daily necessities. As for exports of rice, tapioca and raw sugar, minimal impacts are also expected since they are used as raw materials in various food processing industries.
However, exports of orchids are expected to suffer in the short-term since they are not basic necessities. In addition, exporters have to shoulder rising transportation cost since loading sites for orchids have to relocate farther to Kansai International Airport in Osaka.
Exports of para-rubber to Japan might slow down for the time being since car factories are affected by the deadly disasters and they are gradually resuming production.
