Page 50 - FoodFocusThailand No.155_February 19

SPECIAL REPORT

Food Institute (NFI). The project is a collaboration between the sector by applying curricular from Mie Industry and Enterprise Support
Department of Industrial Promotion (Ministry of Industry), the National Center (MIESC).
Food Institute, and Mie Prefecture, Japan. Japan’s SUEHIRO EPM 3) The Strategy to Promote Cooperation between Thai and
has also given a food processing machine worth 25 million yen to the Japanese Industries - Business Networking Group is expected to
NFI to support with researches and creations of prototypes of food, create in order to promote the coalitions with help from The Federation
which are processing from Thailand’s local product, especially rice and of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
grains, to create commercial value. “The Ministry of Industry believes that the Mie-Thailand Innovation
The Thai Deputy Prime Minister Mr.Somkid Jatusripitak, said in a Center will support human development in the industry and provide
part of his statement on the opening ceremony on November 14 , opportunities for Thai enterprises to access technology, researches,
th
2018 that the cooperation to establish the Mie-Thailand Innovation and innovation that will add values to their goods and services.
Center was originated from his visit to the prefecture in July 2018. The Additionally, this will assist Thai food industry to become an international
trip was to encourage local-to-local collaboration between the leader in the future. If this model is a success and the collaborations
prefecture and provinces in Thailand, especially Chiang Mai which the are expanded to the local community, concrete impacts will be evident,
two governments have the future plan for. Thailand and Japan have which is the achievement of the NFI’s strategy to upgrade Thai
been maintaining a good relationship in every level for a long time, innovations following the government’s Thailand 4.0 scheme”.
especially economic cooperation. In 2017, Japan remained as the top Mr.Eikei Suzuki, Governor of Mie Prefecture, revealed that through
investor to Thailand and accounts for 47% of all foreign companies this collaboration, the NFI will be provided with an extruder from
applying for investment support. SUEHIRO EPM. The machine is manufactured in Japan and holds
The top 5 exports from Thailand to Japan are; fresh chicken and the biggest market share due to its multi-function abilities such as
processed chicken, 46%, fresh seafood and processed seafood (frozen mixing and forming. The partnership is considered the first technological
shrimp and canned tuna), 29%, fresh and processed fruits/vegetables, cooperation in food processing industry following the MOU inked by
(mango, banana, durian, sweet corn, canned pineapple), 4%, sugar, BOI and Mie Prefecture.
4%, and rice, 3%. Meanwhile, top 5 products Thailand imported from “The establishment of Mie-Thailand Innovation Center aims to
Japan are; fresh/chilled/frozen seafood, (for industrial processing and introduce Mie’s food processing technology to Thai enterprises and
direct consumption, 55%, seasonings (domestic use and commercial to promote the collaborations between Thai and Japanese
use in restaurants and hotels), 7%, fresh beef and chilled beef entrepreneurs. Apart from importing the food processing machine into
(restaurants and hotels use), 3%, fresh fruits, 2%, and caviar Thailand for research and experiment, seminars on introducing
(restaurants and hotels use), 2%. technology from Mie will be organized. The opening of the center and
As of today, 30 companies from Mie Prefecture invested in Thailand the machine reception are part of the economic exchange between
in fields ranging from food, technology, chemistry, electronics, medical Thailand and Mie Prefecture, and we do hope that this will strengthen
equipment, and tourism, in total worth of more than THB 10 billion. the industries of both parties”.
Well known food products from Mie Prefecture includes Yamamori’s Mr.Yongvut Saovapruk, President of National Food Institute,
curries in retort pouch, curry cubes, and soy sauce, which produced reinstated that the Mie-Thailand Innovation Center is assisted by
in a factory based in Rayong province. Popular Thai curries packed in SUEHIRO EPM, who provided a food processing machine worth 25
retort pouch include green curry, crab curry powder stir-fried, and red million yen for research and experiment for food products. The research
curry. will be oriented around local materials such as the processing of Thai
“I am confident that the Mie-Thailand Innovation Center will mark Jasmine Rice for commercial production. The service will also be
the beginning of the cooperation between Mie Prefecture and Thailand provided for enterprises who want to create prototype products. As of
to enhance and develop the human resources in the industry, which now, the project is in the process of machine testing and technology
is a very important connection between the industry of the two countries. transfer. By December 2018, a team of academia from NFI will start
The cooperation will surely expand into other aspects such as trade, to research and develop products with this machine under the
investment, and tourism in the future.” observation of crews from SUEHIRO until March 2019. The machine
Mr.Somchai Harnhiran, Deputy Minister of Industry, stated that is a twin-screw extruder, model EA-20, with the production capacity
the establishment of Mie-Thailand Innovation Center aims to “drive of 20 kg/hour. It can be utilized for numbers of food products, as well
the Thai food industry to become international leader” with 3 main as snacks such as crispy corn and crispy rice.
strategies; “The Mie-Thailand Innovation Center is a mechanism to enhance
1) The Strategy to Exchange and Transfer Food Processing the capacity of Thailand’s food innovation through various services
Technology and Innovation and knowledge center such as skill training, innovation development,
The strategy is divided into 2 routes; innovation joint research, and business matching, etc. The direct
(1) Agenda based working plan, which the NFI will be the key beneficiary from this collaboration is mid-stream food entrepreneurs,
player in researching and creating prototypes for processed food especially SMEs who lacks manufacturing capacity and knowledge to
products, as well as encouraging technology exchange and transfer. improve their innovation”.
(2) Area-based working plan, which the Ministry of Industry will Nonetheless, in the initial stage, enterprises whose products are
work to encourage the participation of local communities in accordance made of flour, rice, and grains, will be the direct beneficiary. These
with the local-to-local strategy. The target areas include Songkhla products require intensive development as they can be widely produced
province and Chiang Mai province. The Mie-Thailand Innovation Center in Thailand but lack the commercial value-added enhancement.
will network with NFI’s ICT 4.0 center which is based in Songkhla. In Meanwhile, indirect beneficiaries are upstream farmers, who benefits
Chiang Mai, the innovation center will collaborate with Northern Food from the expansion of processed products. Innovative products demand
Valley to develop Lanna Matsusaka Beef, with the support of Mie high quality raw materials, therefore, farmers can plan their cultivation
Prefecture in providing medical and bio-technology, along with eco- accordingly and develop the yield to match accordingly to the new
friendly and cultural tourism. demands from the manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, downstream
2) The Strategy to Develop Human Resources - The Board of enterprises such as shops and consumers will have more choices for
Investment of Thailand (BOI) is targeted to partner with the Department quality food products.
of Industry Promotion (DIP) to develop new leaders in the manufacturing

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