BANGKOK: Thailand’s food export value this year may not reach its target of 1 trillion baht as the looming severe drought is expected to cut crop output, says the Federation of Thai Industry’s food processing industry club. Club president Boonpeng Santiwattatam said production of major farm products was expected to drop substantially because f water shortage during the drought this year.
“It has been forecast to be a very serious drought, which is why we expect food exports to miss the target. If they do so, it would be the second consecutive year our food exports missed the target,” he said. In 2015, the FTI forecast Thai food export value of 950 billion baht, missing the goal by 10 billion.
Exports in some food segments are expected to fall such as canned fruit, especially canned pineapple, which is a water-thirsty crop that is likely to be cut back substantially by farmers during a drought. In contrast, the export of other kinds of food such as fresh chicken and cooked chicken are expected to increase in line with strong demand, especially in Asia.
