Agriculture & Food

Comprehensive media reported on October 26 that the Thai Ministry of Commerce stated that Thai tea exports from January to July 2021 were 50.854 million baht, a significant increase of 119.36%. It is recommended that farmers step up to improve production standards and processing, and increase the added value and sales channels of Thai tea. Build a Thai brand and increase the use of free trade agreements (FTA) preferential treatment to expand the Chinese and ASEAN markets. Thai tea is one of Thailand's star export products with great development potential. From January to July this year, Thailand's tea exports reached 219,244 tons, a surge of 99.88%; exports of 508.54 million baht, an increase of 119.36%.

Thailand’s tea exports have maintained growth, stepped up efforts to help farmers and manufacturers, increased the added value of Thai tea products, and stepped up the formulation of domestic product standards, and agricultural production engineering management (GAP), good manufacturing practices (GMP) and product geographical indications (GI) Compliant with other international standards. At the same time, it will increase the introduction of certification standards for organic agricultural products, so as to enhance the confidence of importers.

The Ministry of Agriculture should step up efforts to promote the cultivation of tea seeds demanded by farmers in the market, promote the establishment of large-scale community cooperatives, and increase sales channels for domestic and foreign markets, especially online sales channels. The government also needs to increase the promotion of Thai tea, and consumers will pay more attention to and buy healthy tea. Thai tea is one of the good choices. In terms of exports, operators should increase and make good use of FTA preferential tariffs, increase product competitiveness, and open up the Chinese and ASEAN markets.

At present, the main production areas of Thai tea are located in the northern high mountain areas, such as Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phrae, Mae Hong Son, Lampang and Nan. Thai tea can be grown throughout the year, especially in the rainy season, where the production is relatively large from November to December. Statistics show that the total area of tea planting in Thailand in 2020 is 149,656 rai, an increase of 2.9% compared with 2019.