The Thai Government will revive the “Kitchen of the World” campaign. (Photo: weforum.org) Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Government will revive the “Kitchen of the World”campaign with the aim of becoming a major food exporter in the world, expandingfood startups and increasing support to Thai restaurants overseas, as thecountry is striving to raise food exports to contribute more than 6 percent of itsGDP.
Speaking at the 15th World of Food Asia trade show (ThaiFex), Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Thaifood production needs to focus more on added value and develop all supplychains for traceability to achieve internationally recognised food safetystandards.
The Ministry of Commerce needs to work closely with the ThaiChamber of Commerce to revitalise the Kitchen of the World project, while thegovernment pledges to allocate more budget in the next fiscal year to financecomprehensive food development that covers not only food quality but alsoquality of chefs, e-commerce, technology, innovation and startups to createauthentic Thai food and products for consumers.
The Export-Import Bank of Thailand should also play a moreactive role to facilitate startups opening Thai restaurants worldwide, he said.
Initiated 15 years ago, the Kitchen of the World campaignaims not to merely accelerate Thailand's plan to become a major world foodexporter, but also spearhead the export of products from the One Tambon, OneProduct scheme.
The most important task of the Kitchen of the World strategyis to ensure that Thai food products follow the safety and hygiene standards requiredby international rules.
According to the Deputy PM, food demand in the world marketgrows annually and Thailand currently ranks 15th among food exporters, makingup 2.3 percent of the total world food market.
Thailand's food exports reached 1 trillion baht (27.7billion USD) last year. More than 70 percent of the food industry was sold inthe domestic market and 30 percent for export. Thailand’s 10 key exportproducts are rice, processed chicken, canned and processed seafood, frozen andprocessed shrimp, and food seasonings.-VNA
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