An alarm sounded for tainted fruit and vegetable imports in Thailand

Fruits

Vegetables

Thailand

Regulation & Compliances

Market & Price Trends

Published Mar 11, 2024

Tridge summary

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is calling on the government to increase inspections of imported fruits and vegetables, especially those from neighbouring countries and China, due to fears of pesticide contamination. The FTI is also worried about the impact of these imports on Thailand's agricultural sector and the influx of cheap Chinese products affecting local industries. In response, the Industry Minister has directed the Thai Industrial Standards Institute to collaborate with the Customs Department to inspect the quality of imported goods.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is calling on the government to examine fruit and vegetables purchased from neighbouring countries and China more carefully after pesticide contamination was discovered in some imports of farm produce. "Thailand continues to import fruit and vegetables contaminated by chemicals banned in many countries," said Kriengkrai Thiennukul, chairman of the FTI. More careful examination of imported farm produce is required to prevent an unhealthy impact on consumers, he said. One option is to increase the number of inspection officials examining imports of fruit and vegetables, said Mr Kriengkrai, which would build greater confidence among consumers. In January of 2024, the value of imported fruit and vegetables increased by 8.4% year-on-year to 13.2 billion baht, according to the FTI. The imports included oranges, tomatoes, kale, basil, chillies and cauliflower. The FTI is also concerned with the impact of imports on Thailand's agricultural sector, ...

Source: Bangkokpost