|
|
| • EXCH RATES |
|
Baht/$ 34.04/08 (Bid/Ask)
|
GOLD |
13,300
|
|
AGRIBUSINESS
WALAILAK KEERATIPIPATPONG
``With the competition with energy crops intensifying, managing supply efficiently is crucial,'' says River Kwai CEO Roj Burusratanabhand. |
River Kwai International Food Industry, the country's leading sweet corn and vegetable exporter, is looking for a new partner to grow sweet corn in the North.
The expansion conforms with the company's strategy of building a strong network in each region to ensure steady supplies as competition between food and energy crops intensifies.
As a first step, River Kwai would become a trade ally of this supplier and cooperation could be developed into a joint venture, said CEO Roj Burusratanabhand.
River Kwai's Kanchanaburi production base, one of Asia's most advanced sweet corn canneries, consumes more than 130,000 tonnes of sweet corn annually.
Currently, River Kwai has a contract with Siam Food Co for around 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of sweet corn per year from Saraburi, and with a number of farms in Kanchanaburi and Trat for a total of around 70,000 tonnes of corn.
It has also teamed up with Lampang Food to grow sweet corn in Laos covering 1,000 rai to produce 10,000 tonnes.
According to Mr Roj, the company would now like to establish a plantation in Chiang Rai that could contribute about 20,000 tonnes of sweet corn per year.
He added that to ensure a steady supply and prevent over 10,000 families from switching to other crops, the company would pay good prices, provide new planting methods and even establish fund to support farmers.
''With the competition with energy crops intensifying, managing supply efficiently is crucial. Therefore, those who have established strong relationships with farmers will have an advantage,'' he said.
The company supplies sprinkler systems to help farmers reduce their fertiliser expenses and improve productivity. This year it is paying about 4.50 baht for a kilogramme of sweet corn, up from 3.50 baht a couple years ago.
However, the price of sweet corn is much lower than that of corn used in animal feed. This variety is currently priced over 12 baht a kilogramme. Sweet corn for human consumption grows well on irrigated fields while maize for feed tends to favour dry conditions.
Mr Roj said that expansion abroad, especially to Laos, had benefited the company's exports as shipments from Laos to Europe have enjoyed low tariffs under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme.
In contrast, sweet corn from Thailand attracts additional European duty, an anti-dumping (AD) levy of between 3.1% and 12.9% since 2007.
This duty is expected to cut the percentage of Thailand's sweet corn exported to the EU from around 50% in previous years to around 30-35%.
According to the Thai Food Processors Association, after the imposition of the AD levy, Thai sweet corn exports to Europe still increased, but only slightly from 42,000 tonnes in 2006 to 44,000 tonnes in 2007.
Thailand exported about 130,000 to 140,000 tonnes of sweet corn last year, worth about US$122.8 million. River Kwai contributed $50 million of this sum, placing it among Thailand's top three sweet corn exporters, along with Sunsweet and Karncorn.
The anti-dumping levy, however, could cause River Kwai to cut its exports to the EU, turning from markets like Britain and Germany to Japan, Russia, South Korea and the Middle East.
Besides the levy, the business was also hit by rising costs, especially for cans and transport. Currency volatility was another negative factor.
Considering these factors, Mr Roj is cautious in setting this year's sales revenue target at 1.6 billion to 1.7 billion baht, with no increase expected on last year's performance.
River Kwai produces and packs sweet corn and vegetables in cans and vacuum packs for over 20 companies around the globe and its products are sold in 50 countries.
The company is planning a move into frozen sweet corn and intends to offer a wider variety of prepared and ready-to-cook kits for domestic and overseas markets.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Next
