Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged the development of Thai halal food products to help boost exports.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, left, greets participants in the Thailand Halal Assembly in Bangkok on Monday. (Photo by Tawatchai Kumgumnerd)
The collaboration of relevant parties in forming the Thailand Halal Assembly reflected that Thailand had the potential to develop its halal food products to meet international standards, the premier said at the opening of the assembly at Centara Grand at CentralWorld Hotel in Bangkok on Monday.
Halal food exports can help stimulate the economy when shipments of other sectors are facing fierce competition in global markets, he said.
Trade and investment should focus on the unique manufacturing processes of products, including food items, to serve Muslims, the prime minitser said, adding there are some 300 million in the Asean Economic Community to be formed in 2015.
The manufacturing processes would have to meet religious and scientific standards. Technologies and innovations should also be applied to further develop such products, he said.
Gen Prayut hopes that the halal food industry could increase national incomes and help strengthen Thailand's status as a global food producer.
Assoc Prof Winai Dahlan, director of Chulalongkorn University's Halal Science Centre, said on the same occasion that Thailand exported halal products worth more than US$5 billion to 57 Islamic countries annually and was the world's fifth biggest halal product exporter.