Thai fruit and vegetable
market share in Europe
lost to Vietnam since 2005
By Jon Fernquest |
Let's say you owned a small orchard in Thailand that produced fruit and vegetables for export to Europe.
What if European food safety inspectors discovered a serious bacteria contamination in Thai fruit imports and banned all further imports from Thailand?
This actually happened in 2005. Small producers in Thailand really couldn't do anything about it because they have limited resources and funds. Thailand eventually lost 40% of its market share in European supermarkets to Vietnamese exports. The value of Thai produce exported to Europe declined from 100 billion baht in 2005 to 20.2 billion baht last year.
During emergencies governments have to act and act quick. After the contamination in Thai agricultural exports was discovered, no official action was taken to deal with the problem. Foreign governments often wait for some official action by the government to guarantee that the contamination problem has been solved before reinstating privileges and ending the ban.
Vietnam was sitting on the sidelines waiting to grab market share. Vietnam's market share has increased to 30% of the European fruit and vegetable market. Vietnam is also on the verge of making inroads into other Thai export goods, including seafood, poultry, and ready-to-eat food.
The Vietnamese government has proactive policies that support Vietnamese export industries. Vietnam has changed food packaging to comply with European regulations. Improvements in Vietnam's international airport and logistics system may soon boost the country's competitiveness with Thailand.
At a seminar on Thai food exports to Europe held yesterday, the head of the Thai Fruit and Vegetable Association called for an end to government neglect of the industry. Proactive policies will be needed in the future to increase crop yields and produce fresh farm products as well as cut production costs and increase productivity.
(Source: Bangkok Post, business section, 25-04-08, Yuthana Praiwan, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
an orchard - a small farm that grows fruit สวนผลไม้
food safety - the science of handling, preparing and storing food to ensure healthy food (See
Wikipedia) การทำให้อาหารปลอดเชื้อ
bacteria - the very small living things that cause many
diseases แบคทีเรีย
contamination - when something harmful (dirt, chemicals,
disease) enters food ที่ปนเปื้อน ที่มีเชื้อโรค
X banned - officially prevented from doing or selling X การห้ามไม่ให้นำมาขายในท้องตลาด
lost 40% of its market share - percentage of customers or sales in the market that the company has declined by 40% เสียส่วนแบ่งในตลาดถึง 40 % นั่นคือ ปริมาณสินค้าที่ขายได้ลดลง 40 %
produce - food grown in large quantities to be sold ผลผลิตทางการเกษตร
deal with the problem - solve the problem แก้ปัญหา
guarantee - promise that something is true or will happen รับประกัน รับรอง
reinstating privileges - giving someone the right to do something again คืนสิทธิให้อีกครั้งหนึ่ง
sitting on the sidelines - not participating ไม่เข้าร่วม
grab market share - take market share and customers from competitors แย่งส่วนแบ่งในตลาดจากคู่แข่ง
on the verge of - about to happen, will happen
shortly ที่กำลังจะเกิดขึ้น
X makes inroads into Y - X starts affecting or destroying Y สิ่งหนึ่งเริ่มส่งผลกระทบต่ออีกสิ่งหนึ่ง
proactive - acting ahead of time to solve problems แก้ปัญหาล่วงหน้าหรือทำการป้องกันไม่ให้ปัญหาเกิดขึ้น
comply with - do what rules and regulations require,
follow rules ปฏิบัติตามกฎข้อบังคับ
logistics - transporting ands storing goods (raw materials, parts) between supplier and factory, factory and stores ระบบการขนส่งสินค้า
boost competitiveness - when a company produces better or cheaper goods than other companies กระตุ้นการแข่งขัน
called for - ask people to do something เรียกร้อง วิงวอนให้คนต่างๆ เริ่มลงมือทำสิ่งใดสิ่งหนึ่ง
neglect - fail to look after carefully เพิกเฉย
crops - plants grown in large quantities for food (rice,
potatoes, garlic) พืชผล
crop yields - crops produced per rai ผลผลิตต่อไร่
increase productivity - increase the amount produced per unit
of labour or other input such as land, seeds, or fertiliser, in the case of rice
production) เพิ่มกำลังการผลิต
