Small and medium-sized herbal business operators will be given help to improve their products for export, following sluggish domestic sales due to weak consumer spending, which could lead to factory shutdowns, says the Herbal Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
Without help from the government to enhance herbal products to meet international standards, up to 500 factories, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), face the risk of being shuttered as they cannot survive the stagnant local market, according to the club.
The club is working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help SMEs in this industry improve their herb-derived products to meet safety standards.
"The FTI and FDA aim to help these SMEs improve manufacturing processes so they can better compete in the global market," said club chairman Sittichai Daengprasert.
"Currently it is difficult for SMEs to export their products as they are required to meet the PIC/S [Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme] and the GMP [Good Manufacturing Practice]."
Ensuring herbal products meet these two standards is a must for local manufacturers. They need technical help and guidelines to improve the quality of their products, said Mr Sittichai.
The export market is expected to be a new channel of revenue helping herbal business owners relieve the negative impact of low sales in the country during the economic downturn.
"At least, we want to help these SMEs avoid the dim prospect of factory shutdowns by having more purchase orders from abroad," said Mr Sittichai.
These 500 factories need to develop their production in order to meet the PIC/S and GMP standards, said Narong Aphikulvanich, secretary-general of the FDA.
Thailand exports most herbal products to Japan, making up 19.5% of total herbal exports, followed by India (14.8%), China (13.6%), Saudi Arabia (13%) and other markets (39.1%), according to the club.
Thailand is the seventh largest consumer of herbal products globally, with its market size ranked fourth in the world, trailing China, Japan and South Korea, which are the top three markets.
