‘Thailand Vision’ in line with economic goals
PUBLISHED : 15 Jul 2024 at 04:33
South Australia state governor Frances Adamson has pledged to cooperate with Thailand to promote the food and agriculture sector, noting that Thailand and Australia have similar economic goals.
During her visit to Thailand from July 8–11, she met government officials and leaders across the arts and culture, agriculture, energy and wine industries to promote South Australia’s economy and trade investments.
Her visit followed that of David Hurley, the Australian Governor-General, from Feb 13–17.
“In regard to my visit to Thailand, both Thailand and South Australia can work together on food and agriculture as both share the same goal in food and agriculture,” she said during an interview with the Bangkok Post.
Thailand is trying to become an “Agriculture and Food Hub” while Australia has been eyeing Southeast Asia as an important economic partner under the “South East Asia Economic Strategy 2024”, she said.
She said the Australian government has been focusing on the food and agriculture sector as one of its key areas of focus.
“South Australia is also following this strategy to engage with the Southeast Asian region and views that South Australia can be a reliable partner for Thailand due to its strong hold in this sector,” she said.
South Australia is a supplier of high-quality food products to the Thai market, said the state governor. “Thailand is the South Australians’ 5th largest export market behind China, the United States, India and Malaysia, respectively,” she added.
“Grain is one of them. South Australia is the country’s major grain-producing region, which has made Australia become one of the largest producers in the world,” she said.
Regarding the government’s “Ignite Thailand” vision to transform Thailand into a global hub for eight important industries, Ms Adamson said the vision is relevant to South Australia’s economic plans.
She said the vision targets precision farming, increasing yields while reducing fertiliser usage, managing water usage and transitioning to green energy in agricultural sectors.
She said many South Australian companies had been operating for years to maximise crop yields using probes and sensors to reduce fertiliser use and predict the best times of the year to plant crops.
“So, we have companies capable of working with [Thailand’s] agricultural sector in what will necessarily be a long term process of adjustment and possibly transformation,” she said. “Therefore, what we want on this visit is to learn more about the needs of your agricultural sectors.
“One of the things I really want to do when travelling as the governor is listening to what our partners tell us about what they need,” she noted. “We have a particular strength but we need to better understand your needs to see whether we can work together.”
Adamson: Hopes to work together
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