The Commerce Ministry may opt to reduce the period for coconut imports and introduce more stringent controls on importers to tackle the domestic coconut price slump.
Adul Chotinisakorn, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the Commerce Ministry is working with the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to monitor the domestic coconut situation after local growers complained that the current price dip was caused by a flood of imported coconuts.
"To tackle the price decline and ease the effects on local growers, the ministry is scheduled to propose a review of the period for coconut imports at the vegetable oil and crop committee meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, on July 16," said Mr Adul. "Coconut imports should be allowed during periods of low supply."
According to binding tariffs from the World Trade Organization (WTO), Thailand allows 2,317 tonnes of coconut imports a year.
The quota is now taxed at 20% and the import tariff for non-quota trade is 54%. Eligible importers must be juristic persons who operate factories that use coconuts as raw materials.
There are no import quotas under the WTO from January to May and November to December.
But most importers use the Asean Free Trade Agreement, which bans tariffs for coconuts processed into vegetable oil.
In 2017, Thailand's imported coconut totalled 416,124 tonnes worth 4.62 billion baht, 384,102 tonnes of which were from Indonesia, 15,613 tonnes from Vietnam, 2,864 tonnes from Myanmar and 13,524 tonnes from Malaysia.
Mr Adul said Thailand is expected to produce 860,000 tonnes of coconuts this year, much lower than domestic demand, which is estimated at 1.1 million tonnes.
Thailand is relying on imports of 241,000 tonnes in 2018.
The Office of Agricultural Economics said coconut plantations cover 1.119 million rai nationwide, with 203,461 households engaged in growing them last year.
In the first five months of this year, Thailand imported 168,797 tonnes of coconuts worth 1.51 billion baht, down from 178,313 tonnes worth 2.10 billion in the same period of last year.