Business Potential for Agricultural Biotechnology - Asian Productivity ...

Agricultural
research
contains
more biotechnology
components
Management
mechanisms
in place to
control food
safety and
inspection
Host of
shrimp
cluster identified
A clear policy
toward
GMOs is
established
Mutual cooperation
among organizations
under different
authorities
Database
network on
food and
safety established
Service business
on food
/seed inspection
for export
emerges
Widespread
use of DNA
technology
for plant and
livestock
breeding
Organization
established
to handle information
for trade-relateddecision-making
and negotiation
Rice and
cassava
clusters formulated
Business Potential for Agricultural Biotechnology Products in Thailand
Have proficiency
in
food risk
assessment
Domesticate
of shrimp
broodstocks
occupy 50%
of total supply
Post-harvest
and packagingtechnologiesutilized
to expandvegetable/fruit
market
Food researchinstituteestablished
25% of exportedvegetables/fruits
utilize biocontrol
for
pest management
– 179 –
A policy
shift from
the country’s
role as OEM
in seed production
to
that of developer
and
exporter
New bestseller
marine
products in
addition to
shrimp
Thai livestockproductsaccepted
in global
market
Export of
processed
agricultural
products
ranked
global top 5
Total food
export value
reaches THB
1.2 trillion
Biotechnology
helped
to promote
Thailand as
kitchen of
the world
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Figure 2. Milestones for Promoting Thailand as the Kitchen of the World
To prepare and utilize (scientific) data in decision-making, establishing key measures, and
negotiating or solving trade barrier problems.
Regulatory Framework and Existing Laws Related to Agricultural Biotechnology, Business,
and Products (including GMOs)
Agricultural biotechnology is relatively new in Thailand; the existing laws, mainly under
the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, that are summarized in Table 1 have been implemented
provisionally until new specific laws are issued. In addition, there are two guidelines:
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology for Laboratory Work and Genetic Engineering and
Biotechnology for Field Work and Planned Release, approved in 1992 and implemented under
the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) established in 1993. These guidelines were reviewed
and published as Biosafety Guidelines for Work Related to Modern Biotechnology or Genetic
Engineering in November 2004. Regulations for food containing ingredients derived from
GMOs were drafted in 2002 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They became a
Ministerial Notification in 2002 and have been in force since May 11, 2003. Only GM soybean
and corn are imported for food and feed production. The threshold level is 5% of DNA or
protein from each of the top three ingredients, and each ingredient should be more than 5% by
weight of product. The product should be labeled as Genetically Modified, for example, Gene-