Thailand’s agriculture and food industry has constantly incorporated new innovations in an effort to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of a global market that is flooded with virtually endless options.

Staying ahead in this fiercely competitive environment requires access to a wide variety of raw materials on large agricultural plantations and a well-developed supply chain. Leveraging advancements in digitization and using advanced technologies such as 3D printing, AI, and big data, the Thai food industry is also producing foods that align with mainstream intelligence technology and address concerns. environmental.

Indeed, the accelerating change in consumer demand for innovative foods such as alternative proteins, medical foods, functional foods and 3D food printing has created an unprecedented shift in the Thai food industry, with the recent emergence of budding startups. Attentive to global trends and technology, these startups play a key role in building awareness of Thai food brands among consumers.

Thailand’s food development industry also prioritizes progress with a greater emphasis on safety standards and transparency at every stage of production. Notably, the Thai government recently launched a blockchain system that serves as a portal for consumers to trace and track every process.

In the global market, Thai food entrepreneurs have shown their strengths with successful exports in 2020, even as global demand calmed down in light of the pandemic. As consumers sought quality food products with a long shelf life during times of restrictive outdoor activities, Thai frozen and processed fruits and vegetables, beans and powdered soups proved popular, placing them among the products that have resisted on the world market.

Food for future development

The worldwide popularity of Thai tourism and culture along with the quality of its food and agricultural products have helped to make “made in Thailand” products that resonate with uniqueness and quality in the global market. With a skilled workforce and an agricultural sector with a culture deeply rooted in agricultural wisdom and well-established supply chains, Thailand has successfully grown its food industry to become the 11th largest food exporter in the world. in 2019, placing it second behind China in Asia. .

The Thai government is currently implementing a medium-term plan to widely develop the Thai food industry, with the aim of adding economic value to local food and agricultural products for local economic development, as well as placing Thailand among the world’s ten largest food exporters. Thailand’s efforts will also fulfill its role in helping tackle food insecurity in some countries exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thailand’s vibrant food industry accounts for a quarter of the country’s industrial gross domestic product and uses more than four-fifths of local raw materials for production. The strength of the population and the endowment of the country with vast agricultural plantations, the diversity of agricultural products, a well-established agro-food industry and a geographical location in the center of the ASEAN region have underlined Thailand’s strong position in the chain. global food supply.

The Thai government has identified “Future Food” as an industry that will become a key economic driver, as the combination of a passionate new generation of food producers, digitization and food technology has elevated Thailand’s place globally. in this exciting new industry. .

The government’s food development plan focuses on four areas: creating new entrepreneurs, scaling up innovations, using online marketing platforms, and improving the ease of doing business.

Government agencies are supporting Thai farmers by promoting their adoption of agricultural technologies, such as automation and robotics, AI (artificial intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things) and production factories, to increase their productivity and overcome problems such as weather uncertainty and operating costs.

The Thai government’s policy to streamline its digital databases and the operations of all its agencies, in accordance with a law enacted in 2019, will further strengthen Thailand’s position as one of the most promising places for the country. investment in the food industry.

Ment the food warriors

The Thai government envisions Thailand to become a key global player in the ‘foods of the future’ market – a new kind of food that is both functional and innovative, often involving R&D and production processes and services based on technology.1 As the food industry can be stimulated by ideas on which – with the right mentors and the right investments – a plausible business model can be built, Thailand has seen the development of many new local entrepreneurs deploy food innovations that use the latest food and agro-technological technologies in startups that cater to the multiple demands of consumers.

“SPACE-F,” the world’s leading food technology startup incubator and accelerator in Thailand, is now running Batch-II acceleration. Managed by the National Innovation Agency, Mahidol University and Thai multinational food conglomerates, SPACE-F aims to serve as a platform on which promising entrepreneurs can receive mentorship and advice from businesses, corporations venture capitalists, venture capitalists and agencies that will help grow their food tech startups to be successful on a global scale.

Since the program began in 2019, four food tech startups, out of a total of 34 participants, have received funding to expand their businesses. Local innovations showcased in SPACE-F included sesame milk, duckweed protein, cricket protein, a biodegradable fruit coating solution and a sensor system for production quality control. food.

Reflecting their interest in food tech startups, local multinational food companies have also partnered with seed funds to invest in food tech startups around the world.

BOI Promote agrifood technology

The Thailand Board of Investment3 has introduced tax incentives along the supply chain of agribusiness companies, with particular emphasis on technology in the form of R&D, productivity improvement, agro-technology, testing high-tech quality, factories and sustainability certification.

Incentives offered include:

• 8-year CIT exemption for the manufacture of medical food and food supplements
• 8-year CIT exemption for the adoption of advanced technologies such as fruit maturity sensor, radio frequency pest control and nuclear magnetic resonance in the classification, packaging and storage of plants, vegetables, fruits or flowers
• 8-year income tax exemption for the manufacture of biomolecule and bioactive substance using microorganisms, plant cells or animal cells
• 8-year income tax exemption for the seed industry and the improvement of plant, animal or micro-organism breeding through biotechnology
• 5-year income tax exemption for the manufacture of vegetable or animal oils or fats (except soybeans)
• 5-year income tax exemption for the manufacture of food ingredients, beverages and seasonings, excluding alcoholic beverages, caffeinated beverages, baked goods and sweets
• 5-year CIT exemption for the adoption of smart farming systems such as the use of sensors, drones or greenhouses
• 5-year income tax exemption for investments in manufacturing plants
• 5-year CIT exemption for the manufacture of animal feed that conforms to food safety standards such as ISO 22000

1 https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1390222 /nfis-direction-for-the-food-industry-of-the-future-thailand

2 https://www.space-f.co

3 https://www.boi.go.th/index.php?page=index