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Sunday, May 25, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 224
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Thailand, a powerhouse in farm output in Southeast Asia, shows how technology, innovation and a keen pulse for the market make it a top exporter.
FARM-FRESH PRODUCE TO FEED THE WORLD TWIN pagodas at Doi Inthanon National Park emerge through the morning mist at sunrise in Chiang Mai, Thailand. As northern Thailand’s cultural and innovation hub, Chiang Mai drives value-added agriculture, with local firms using R&D to transform crops like garlic and honey into global products. BUSAKORN PONGPARNIT | DREAMSTIME.COM
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By Ada Pelonia
phoning off the pungent scent while retaining its jam-packed health benefits. Having collaborated with the Science and Technology Park (STeP) of Chiang Mai University, Nopphada developed and enhanced their black garlic products, which helped the business thrive and expand to the global e-commerce market. “We looked for ways to add value to what Thai farmers already grow. That’s when we turned through fermentation, transforming fresh garlic into something new, functional, and full of potential.”
HIANG MAI, Thailand— Innovation lives and breathes at the heart of Thailand’s fertile soils, with a bird’s-eye view from the plane’s porthole offering a vast expanse of plantations thousands of feet above the ground. The country’s agricultural output leaves a mark as a powerhouse in Southeast Asia, given its role as a major exporter of farmfresh produce that impacts global food markets. Smith Taweelerdniti, Vice President of the Thai Future Food Trade Association, said Thailand’s food exports reached 1.6 trillion last year ($48.28 billion). Of which, the outbound shipments of farm goods accounted for 819.07 billion, while processed products clawed the remaining share at 821.21 billion. “When looking at the valueadding sector of the processed food industry, [ . . . ] it’s still growing,” Taweelerdniti said during a press conference here for the upcoming Fi Asia Thailand 2025 and Vitafoods Asia 2025. Canned seafood, sugar and molasses, pet foods, and beverages were among the country’s leading processed food exports last year. But as the country boosts its agricultural prowess, the largest city in Northern Thailand pulsates with blossoming progress. Chiang Mai, sprawling with intricate architecture and lush farmlands, shows a promising future for value-added products built on traditions that constantly evolve to mark its place in the domestic and international scene.
Superfood
NOPPHADA Superfoods Co. Ltd. started with the family’s garlic
Beekeeping
BLACK garlic by the Nopphada Superfoods Co. in Lamphun Province. ADA PELONIA
business in the late 1960s when it faced fierce competition from the influx of cheap garlic from China during its four-decade run. By 2015, the Thai firm said these low-cost imports dragged the local garlic trade “to the brink of collapse.” For Nopphada Atikakamphu, CEO of Nopphada, this ushered the need to innovate, veering away from the garlic business but with a twist in his bid to boost the lot of farmers counting on the crop for their livelihood. Atikakamphu banked on research and development (R&D) to turn the critical aromatic for Thai cuisine into black garlic through the process of fermentation, si-
SPEAKERS at the press conference for the upcoming Fi Asia Thailand 2025 and Vitafoods Asia 2025. From left: Yuthana Phimolsiripol, Rungphech Chitanuwat, Smith Taweelerdniti, and Puripan Bunnag. ADA PELONIA
A SELECTION of honey-based products from Thai brand Fora Bee. ADA PELONIA
AS far as innovation goes, it always has a beginning. For Chiang Mai Healthy Product Co., Ltd., its famed honey brand Fora Bee started with beekeeping as a hobby. Sanguan Ruengsiri founded the Thai company in 1975, bringing back the beekeeping knowledge from where he studied in Taiwan to his home country. Having started with merely four hives, he expanded it to over 10,000 colonies. As years passed, Ruengsiri’s workers eventually established their respective farms, which the company has been engaging through contract farming to fulfill the brand’s honey requirement. However, every business has its fair share of setbacks. Yutthapong Ruengsiri, Assistant Managing Director of Chiang Mai Healthy Product and among the second generation of the family’s business, said the blow to the Thai firm came in the form of a booming honey output. “Back in 2000, we had a problem with the oversupply of honey. We couldn’t sell all the honey we bought from local beekeepers,” Ruengsiri said. “So, we tried to focus more on R&D to increase the value of the honey and bee products,” he added. Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.6370 n JAPAN 0.3863 n UK 74.7094 n HK 7.1092 n CHINA 7.7209 n SINGAPORE 43.0560 n AUSTRALIA 35.6633 n EU 62.7752 n KOREA 0.0403 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8373 Source: BSP (May 23, 2025)