BANGKOK, 4 July 2012 – The National Food Industry is worried that there remain a number of serious issues that small food business operators in the country will have a hard time to surpass to compete strongly after the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is realized.
National Food Industry (NFI) Executive Vice President Amorn Ngammongkolrat said on Tuesday that, with the AEC due to be realized in less than 3 years, the issue of Thailand’s food safety is now being brought up for broad discussion now.
He said that such an issue is imminent because regulations in many countries, such as the US and within ASEAN, continue to be improved or added.
Mr. Amorn stated that while large Thai food business operators will likely have no problems meeting stricter requirements, medium and small-sized businesses are still to struggle with the problems of safety and pricing, which may put them in a weak position without timely improvement.
The NFI Executive Vice President went on to say that all food business operators are also to instill and boost confidence among their foreign clients and partners.
He said that one case with damaging impact on a single product may jeopardize other similar items. Therefore, strict standards for Thai food for the export industry must be clearly set and implemented to prevent future undesirable consequences.
