Minister of Commerce, Ms. Supajee Suthamphan, revealed that Thai farmers growing fragrant coconuts have been severely affected by the plummeting prices. This is due to several factors, including oversupply and substandard quality produce that factories and agricultural processing industries cannot purchase the coconuts. Furthermore, foreign capital or nominees have infiltrated the business from upstream to downstream, altering the structure of the Thai fragrant coconut industry. Farmers face the problem of selling their coconuts at prices that don't reflect their production costs, resulting in insufficient income to maintain market-quality produce. This creates an opening for foreign capital to dominate the entire fragrant coconut industry.

The Ministry of Commerce held a meeting to discuss solutions to the low fragrant coconut prices at the Burachat Chaiyakorn Meeting Room, Ministry of Commerce. Stakeholders from the coconut industry and related agencies, including the Ratchaburi Provincial Federation of Industries, the Ratchaburi Provincial Farmers' Council, the Thai Fragrant Coconut Association, and over 15 local entrepreneurs, were invited to participate to gather opinions and reflect on actual costs, and to determine market trends. The meeting aimed to find solutions to long-standing structural problems, create a fair pricing mechanism, and upgrade the quality of fragrant coconuts to create more market opportunities. Discussions focused on plans to address fluctuating coconut prices, restructuring coconut processing businesses for greater transparency and systemization, and strategies to manage production volume to align with market demand and supply to prevent oversupply. This included adjusting pricing structures, upgrading product quality to reduce import rejection, controlling processing to meet quality standards and prevent contaminants, expanding market opportunities such as processing, expanding export markets, developing premium products, and increasing domestic demand. Simultaneously, stricter oversight of businesses operating under the guise of Thai nominees was implemented to ensure fair market mechanisms and build confidence with international trading partners.

“However, addressing these issues with these strategies cannot be achieved by the Ministry of Commerce alone. Integrated cooperation from all sectors is necessary to adapt these approaches to other Thai agricultural products. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Commerce has guidelines for regulating businesses to ensure compliance with the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999) and the Accounting Act B.E. 2543 (2000) as part of creating a suitable agricultural market system.” "We are committed to seriously, transparently, and effectively preventing and monitoring the use of nominees. This will help protect national interests, maintain economic stability, and create fair competition in business, ensuring the sustainable growth of the Thai economy in the future."

Mr. Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, Director-General of the Department of Business Development, concluded by saying, "This meeting is a crucial opportunity to build sustainability in the Thai fragrant coconut industry, a high-potential product in the global market. We must work together to establish a strong structure from upstream to downstream to prevent Thai entrepreneurs from losing competitive opportunities on the global stage. The Department of Business Development reaffirms its commitment to continuously integrate cooperation with relevant agencies to oversee businesses in accordance with the law, create fair competition, and strengthen the Thai fragrant coconut industry in the long term. We also warn those involved in facilitating wrongdoing and emphasize that Thais should be cautious in not assisting, supporting, or holding shares on behalf of foreigners to enable them to conduct business in a way that circumvents or violates the law. If wrongdoing is discovered, legal action will be taken rigorously. Offenders will be punished under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), Section 36, for Thais who assist foreigners in committing offenses, and Section 37, for foreigners conducting business without permission." The penalty is imprisonment for up to 3 years, or a fine of 100,000 to 1,000,000 baht, or both. Failure to comply with a court order is punishable by a daily fine of 10,000 to 50,000 baht until the violation ceases. It is believed that the price of fragrant coconuts will gradually increase within the next month, as key markets like China, nearing the end of the winter season, will begin consuming more cold beverages.” #superDBD #DepartmentofBusinessDevelopment #MinistryofCommerce

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