Bangkok--22 Nov--GIZ
With global food exports continuing to grow and the restrictions on food imports becoming ever more stringent in the international market, Thailand and other ASEAN countries are being urged to improve their standards to ensure compliance with internationally recognised sanitary requirements. Cooperation within the region has become essential. As part of these efforts, a regional workshop on ‘Strategies for Improved Food Safety in Southeast Asia’ was held last week in Bangkok.
Organized by Thailand’s National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standard (ACFS), Consumer International (CI) and German International Cooperation (GIZ), the workshop served as a platform for discussions among stakeholders in the areas of food safety to match assistance with actual needs and for the exchange of ideas and experience on successful approaches. The workshop is financed by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Sakchai Sriboonsue, Secretary General of the ACFS said “ASEAN countries are considered as one of the world’s major food exporters. Export of agricultural products and processed agricultural products from Thailand only was worth 1,402 billion baht in 2011. If we are to maintain the competitiveness of Thailand and other ASEAN countries, our food safety must be improved to comply with the restrictions set down by international standards and at the same time respond to increased consumer demand for safe food. Strong collaboration within the region has become inevitable and will benefit the region especially with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. The successful management of food safety system at the national level will help promoting the credibility and boosting export growth of agricultural and food products of the AEC as a collective goal.
Ingo Winkelmann, Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy in Thailand, said “During the visit to Germany of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in July 2012, technical assistance in the area of food standards was one of the points of discussion with the German government. On behalf of the German government, we are please, that GIZ is cooperating with Thailand at a regional level since the development of the whole region will be more effective with the launch of the AEC. Raising the food safety standards besides the technical competencies primarily needs improved management processes within the agro-industrial sector. We are glad to see collaboration within the region and with Germany. Joint activities and platforms will enable to share good practices and raise the understanding for food safety requirements.”
The Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is an enterprise owned by the German government with worldwide operations. Utilizing international cooperation it promotes sustainable development and international education work. In Thailand it operates on behalf of a variety of clients, German federal ministries or international clients like the EU or the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and in cooperation with the Thai government.