THAI ENVOY: ENOUGH FOOD FOR EXPORT DESPITE FLOOD

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Thailand says it has enough food for
export to Malaysia and other countries in the region despite the country being
hit by its worst flood in decades.

"It is a short-term problem," said its Ambassador to Malaysia Songsak
Saicheua here Thursday.

He said only northern and central Thailand were affected by the floods while
the southern area was safe, adding there were ample stocks of food.

"We got rapid help from four countries, namely China, Japan, the United
States and New Zealand, to tackle the problem. Meanwhile, we also welcome help
from other countries," he said.

Saicheua was speaking at the soft launch of the Brunei
Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and
Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) High-value Agriculture
Business Conference and Trade Expo 2011 here Thursday.

The event was also attended by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

Saicheua said the assistance provided by neighbouring countries had reached
the flood-hit areas and had accelerated Thailand's recovery.

Meanwhile, Nor Mohamed said the goal of the BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT conference
and expo is to promote investment activities anchored by the private sector with
facilities provided by the public sector.

"Private sector participation is very important in the agricultural sector
to reform towards specialisation in high-value agriculture through foreign
direct investment (FDI)," he said.

Nor Mohamed said FDI can promote growth of high-value agriculture through
connecting farmers in developing countries with high-value export markets.
-- BERNAMA