World Tapioca Conference 2018 set in Bangkok June 27-28

BANGKOK, June 19 (TNA) - Thailand will host the "World Tapioca Conference 2018" in Bangkok during June 27-28, the 5th of its kind, in which about 1,000 international producers, exporters and importers of tapioca, as well as representatives of relevant agencies are expected to participate to discuss the prospect of the economic crop on the world market and to learn on the development of modern technologies and innovative farming techniques. Adul Chotinisakorn, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, under the Thai Ministry of Commerce, told journalists on the information on Tuesday, saying that the upcoming international gathering, themed "Can You See The MAGIC? TAPIOCA:THE MAGIC PLANT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE", is also aimed to show Thailand's potential as the world's No.1 producer and exporter of tapioca and to create and sustain confidence on the world-classed quality standard of the Thai economic crop globally. Besides, the upcoming two-day international conference, in which delegations from Thailand's major trading partners for tapioca, including China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, other member countries of the ASEAN Community (AC) and the European Union (EU), will take part, should result in more purchase orders of Thai tapioca and processed products in order to maintain and even boost the price of Thai tapioca on the world market. The senior official acknowledged that the price of Thai tapioca on the world market has increased to 3.20 baht per kilogram this year, a jump of 85 per cent year-on-year. According to the senior official, the upcoming international gathering is also a good opportunity for Thai exporters of tapioca and processed products to explore such new potential markets as Turkey and New Zealand, as sessions on business talks and conclusion through contract signing will also be included, together with exhibitions on the Thai tapioca plantations and related industries from the upstream to the downstream processes, in which the "tapioca as a majic plant" will be showcased, namely for human consumption, animal feed, chemical elements and alternative energy. Based on official statistics, Thailand normally produces fresh tapioca of up to 28-20 million tons annually, earning the Kingdom over 100 billion baht yearly and creating jobs and income for more than 500,000 households. In 2017 alone, Thailand's exports of tapioca exceeded 11 million tons, worth more than 2.7 billion US dollars, and the Ministry of Commerce has targeted to export tapioca of about 10.6 million tons in 2018. (TNA)