The Commerce Ministry has teamed up with supermarkets and department stores to sell and promote innovative agricultural products, aiming to generate sales of more than 500 million baht in the first year.
According to Adul Chotinisakorn, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, the partnership will not only enable farmers and entrepreneurs to raise their income, but also let consumers buy higher-quality products.
The innovative products to be sold through the participating supermarkets and department stores are mostly made by entrepreneurs supported by the Foreign Trade Department through the Institute for Agricultural Product Innovation (APi).
Founded a few years ago at the request of the Rice Policy and Management Committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, APi aims to drive and promote agricultural product innovation.
The partnership will cover ready-to-eat products, low-calorie rice, healthy processed coconut, organic rice milk, multigrain rice and dried fruits, as well as pet products such as dog shampoo and dog desserts.
Mr Adul said participating supermarkets and department stores include Gourmet Market (11 branches), Cafe Amazon (2,100 branches) and Lemon Farm (15 branches).
Products are also available at Central Food Retail and Ecotopia at Siam Discovery.
"Since the department has marketed the innovative products for about a year, sales of innovative farm products have fetched about 300 million baht," Mr Adul said. "We expect the latest partnership with leading supermarkets and department stores to boost sales for the participating entrepreneurs and farmers who supply raw materials."
According to Mr Adul, the Foreign Trade Department also plans to promote innovative Thai farm products to overseas markets in Europe and Asia after holding international roadshows for rice last year in Canada and the US.
The department is joining forces with the Thailand Research Fund to jointly conduct R&D, and with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand to provide low-interest loans to entrepreneurs who make innovative farm products.