Bangkok: The government aims to send Thai food to Vietnam, promoting the Thai SELECT brand. The government has set a target to send Thai food to Vietnam, and is accelerating adjustments to the plan to support market growth, promoting the Thai SELECT brand to penetrate the market.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Anukul Prueksanusak, Deputy Government Spokesperson, revealed that the results of the survey on opportunities for Thai products to be exported to the food market in Vietnam found that the Vietnamese market has a high growth potential due to the Vietnamese population of more than 100.3 million people, with the population aged 15-54 years accounting for approximately 62%. In addition, as consumers' incomes increase in line with economic growth, Vietnam has an increased demand for quality food products, especially in the food and beverage market. The latest report from Hanoi indicates that Vietnam's food and beverage market in 2024 is worth more than VND720 trillion (970,533 million baht), an increase of 10.92%. Vietnam also has an increasing demand for organic food and beverage products, healthy food, and processed food according to international standards.
Mr. Anukul said that although Vietnam is a country with a large amount of agricultural and fishery products and is a major agricultural exporter, it also imports a large amount of food products from abroad. The main import markets are Indonesia, China, the United States, Malaysia, and Thailand, with Thailand being the 5th largest trading partner because Vietnamese consumers prefer Thai products, especially snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, organic food and beverages, health foods, and food seasonings. The government, through the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce, has adjusted its marketing plan and created an image for Thai food products and Thai food service businesses to stimulate consumption. This includes promoting Thai SELECT restaurants, organizing trade promotion activities, and publicizing the image of Thai products through offline and online channels, promoting Thai products through influencers, Youtubers, or Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), organizing business matchi ng negotiations, and organizing a delegation of food and beverage and related BCG products to negotiate trade (B2B) in Vietnam to create opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs, hoping to increase export channels to Vietnam.
'The government is pushing forward to create opportunities to expand the export market for food products abroad and increase channels for Thai entrepreneurs to enter the market so that they can compete sustainably on the world stage, generate income from exports, and also promote the soft power of 'Thai food', Thai identity, and Thai culture,' said Mr. Anukul.