Thai fruit juice exports to Asean: The Asean Free Trade Area advantage
By Jon Fernquest
The
ASEAN
Free Trade Area (AFTA) began this year, but
long-standing trade practices take time to adjust and catch
up with all the new trade opportunities that come with the agreement
(See article).
Thailand has developed a thriving fruit industry (Read article).
Compared to neighbors like Burma and Laos, Thailand's efficient road network makes the transportation and sale of fruit anywhere in the country easy.
For example, for years I used to buy my favourite fruit, Durian, in Maesai the northernmost point of Thailand. Every evening Durian vendors would line the main street of town selling Durian to ruby merchants from Chantaburi where Durian is grown.
Fruit is a highly perishable good so when there is an over-supply it cannot be stored away until there are better market conditions like rice can.
Fruit juice has a longer shelf life than raw fruit and this makes for higher export potential, a potential that has yet to be exploited under AFTA.
Fruit juice exports is the subject of today's article which begins after the vocabulary and graphic below.
ASEAN - the grouping of countries in Southeast Asia for political and economic cooperation, includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam (See Wikipedia)
AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) - a trade agreement by the countries in ASEAN to reduce and end tariffs within ASEAN (SeeWikipedia)
free trade - when goods and services can pass between countries without being taxed
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) - an agreement between a group of countries to eliminate many tariffs, quotas and preferences on goods passing between them (See Wikipedia)
trade - the buying and selling of goods การค้าขาย
practices - a way of doing some common task in an organization
opportunites - situations where it is possible to do what you want to do โอกาส
thriving - very successful ( making money and supplying goods to many consumers)
road network - a system of roads that are connected to each other
perishable goods - food that decays, rots and quickly goes bad so it cannot be sold and must be taken off the shelves
shelf life - the period of time that a product remains in good condition and can remain on a store's shelves to be sold
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ ที่เป็นไปได้
exploit potential - actually in the end achieve the success that was possible
Marketing
Thai juice exporters urged to tap into Asean markets
23/08/2010Thai exporters of fruit and vegetable juices are urged to tap more into Asean markets as tariffs have been eliminated under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) since the beginning of this year, says Kasikorn Research Center.
Thai fruit and vegetable juice exports to Asean currently account for only 11.9% of the total value of total juice exports, but expanded by 57.7% year-on-year to $23.5 million in the first half of 2010, underscoring the high potential for additional sales to Asean.
urged
- advised someone very strongly about what action should be taken วิงวอน
tap - start using some new resource (here: enter into a new market to sell products in it and make money for your company)
tariffs - taxes on imports (to make foreign goods less competitive in a country) พิกัดอัตราภาษีศุลกากร
eliminated - ended, stopped, got rid of
Kasikorn Research Center - Thailand's top private economic research center (See website)
underscoring - saying that something is important and emphasizing it
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ ที่เป็นไปได้
tap - start using some new resource (here: enter into a new market to sell products in it and make money for your company)
tariffs - taxes on imports (to make foreign goods less competitive in a country) พิกัดอัตราภาษีศุลกากร
eliminated - ended, stopped, got rid of
Kasikorn Research Center - Thailand's top private economic research center (See website)
underscoring - saying that something is important and emphasizing it
potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ ที่เป็นไปได้
Thailand is the 13th largest fruit and vegetable juice exporter in the world with a 2.7% share of a global market with a total export value of US$290 million per year, growing at an impressive rate of 11.3% annually. The European Union, the US and Japan are the top three export destinations, together accounting for more than 70% of Thai shipments.
share
- to have or use something at the same time as someone else ใช้ร่วมกัน
2.7% share - having a part that is 2.7% of the whole thing
market share - the percentage of customers in a market buying a company's products
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
impressive - something that people admire because it is very good, very large or shows great skill ซึ่งน่าประทับใจ
impressive - makes you think very highly of it (because it is very large, lifelike, colourful, beautiful, etc) ประทับใจ
rate - the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period อัตรา
annually - happening every year ทุกๆปีด
2.7% share - having a part that is 2.7% of the whole thing
market share - the percentage of customers in a market buying a company's products
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
impressive - something that people admire because it is very good, very large or shows great skill ซึ่งน่าประทับใจ
impressive - makes you think very highly of it (because it is very large, lifelike, colourful, beautiful, etc) ประทับใจ
rate - the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period อัตรา
annually - happening every year ทุกๆปีด
In the first half of 2010, Thai juice export values rose 20.2% to $197.8 million, with the Netherlands, the US, Italy, Japan, and Laos the top five destinations.
In this six-month period, pineapple juice exports had the highest value at $116 million, growing by 19.6% and accounting for 58.9% of all Thai juice exports. K-Research recommends Thai businesses focus more on mixed fruit and vegetable juices, orange juice, and other citrus juices, which all saw much higher. growth than pineapple juice
Tariff cuts under Afta have been especially good for shipments to Laos, Burma, Cambodia and Vietnam, which were required to lower their tariffs to no more than 5%, resulting in lower costs for the Thai exports and explosive growth rates ranging from 67% to 130%.
In contrast to exports, Thailand's imports of juice imports from the global and Asean markets are low. In the first half of 2010, Thailand spent $28.9 million to import juices from around the world and $800,000 from Asean countries.
However, K-Research cautions that Asean-China trade liberalisation may lead to an influx of Chinese juices, which could upset the current trade balance.
focus
- think about and work on one thing (rather than waste time on many),
concentrate time and attention on one thing ให้ความสำคัญ
citrus - orange and lemon trees
contrast - a noticeable difference ความแตกต่าง
import - to buy or bring in products from another country นำเข้า
caution (verb) - tell or warn someone to be careful about some possible danger
trade - the buying and selling of goods การค้าขาย
liberalisation - reducing rules and regulations in an industry (See glossary) เสรีภาพในการแสดงความคิดเห็นหรือแสดงออก
Asean-China trade liberalisation - free trade agreements between Asean and China that have reduced tariffs on goods and other barriers to trade (Read article).
upset - to change the usual or expected state or order of something, especially in a way which stops it from happening or working ทำให้ไม่ปกติ
current - of the present time ปัจจุบัน
trade balance - balance of trade, the difference in value between exports and imports during a time period (See Wikipedia)
citrus - orange and lemon trees
contrast - a noticeable difference ความแตกต่าง
import - to buy or bring in products from another country นำเข้า
caution (verb) - tell or warn someone to be careful about some possible danger
trade - the buying and selling of goods การค้าขาย
liberalisation - reducing rules and regulations in an industry (See glossary) เสรีภาพในการแสดงความคิดเห็นหรือแสดงออก
Asean-China trade liberalisation - free trade agreements between Asean and China that have reduced tariffs on goods and other barriers to trade (Read article).
upset - to change the usual or expected state or order of something, especially in a way which stops it from happening or working ทำให้ไม่ปกติ
current - of the present time ปัจจุบัน
trade balance - balance of trade, the difference in value between exports and imports during a time period (See Wikipedia)
(Source: Bangkok Post, Marketing, Thai juice exporters urged to tap into Asean markets, 23/08/2010, link)
