The Thai Government will revive the “Kitchen of the World” campaign. (Photo: weforum.org)The Thai Government will revive the “Kitchen of the World” campaign with the aim of becoming a major food exporter in the world, expanding food startups and increasing support to Thai restaurants overseas, as the country is striving to raise food exports to contribute more than 6 percent of its GDP.
Speaking at the 15th World of Food Asia trade show (ThaiFex), Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Thai food production needs to focus more on added value and develop all supply chains for traceability to achieve internationally recognised food safety standards.
The Ministry of Commerce needs to work closely with the Thai Chamber of Commerce to revitalise the Kitchen of the World project, while the government pledges to allocate more budget in the next fiscal year to finance comprehensive food development that covers not only food quality but also quality of chefs, e-commerce, technology, innovation and startups to create authentic Thai food and products for consumers.
The Export-Import Bank of Thailand should also play a more active role to facilitate startups opening Thai restaurants worldwide, he said.
Initiated 15 years ago, the Kitchen of the World campaign aims not to merely accelerate Thailand's plan to become a major world food exporter, but also spearhead the export of products from the One Tambon,One Product scheme.
The most important task of the Kitchen of the World strategy is to ensure that Thai food products follow the safety and hygiene standards required by international rules.
According to the Deputy PM, food demand in the world market grows annually and Thailand currently ranks 15th among food exporters, making up 2.3 percent of the total world food market.
Thailand's food exports reached 1 trillion baht (27.7 billion USD) last year. More than 70 percent of the food industry was sold in the domestic market and 30 percent for export. Thailand’s 10 key export products are rice, processed chicken, canned and processed seafood, frozen and processed shrimp, and food seasonings./.