THAIFEX-World of Food Asia 2014 fair fully welcomed by global operators

BANGKOK, April 29 (TNA) - Worldwide food operators welcome the THAIFEX-World of Food Asia 2014 fair, set to be held at the IMPACT Trade and Exhibition Convention in Muang Thong Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok from May 21-25, with exhibition areas having already been fully occupied. Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, Director-General of the Thai Ministry of Commerce's Department of International Trade Promotion, told journalists on Tuesday that, despite the ongoing domestic political deadlock, her department, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Cologne Exhibition Centre of Germany will jointly organize the fair, as it is considered the biggest international food fair in Asia and recognized by worldwide food producers and buyers. Nuntawan said she hopes that the upcoming fair will demonstrate the potential of Thai food exports and help boost the overall value of the country's food exports by 4.8 per cent this year as targeted. Isara Vongkusolkit, Chairman of the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, confirmed, meanwhile, that global food business operators have fully reserved about 3,200 booths at the venue, a 40 per cent surge from the previous year, and the organizers are, thus, considering to expand the area of the fair next year. THAIFEX-World of Food Asia 2014 fair is believed to attract about 96,000 local and foreign buyers and generate incomes of over 5 billion baht for Thailand. Isara assessed that the global population should increase from 7.1 billion to 9.7 billion over the next 35 years and their demand for food should soar by 60 per cent. However, Sutapa Amornvivat, Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Siam Commercial Bank, reported that her bank has revised its estimation on Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) growth downwards this year, from 2.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent, due mainly to protracted domestic political problems and Thai exports. Based on the revised projection, Sutapa pointed out, the value of Thailand's GDP in 2014 should drop by as much as 800 billion baht, as the prolonged domestic political problems have delayed the disbursement of state budgets, affected investment in both the public and the private sectors and slowed down domestic consumption. (TNA)