The Commerce Ministry has called for collaboration among Thai conglomerates and government agencies to help purchase economic crops and secondary crops, aiming to reach revenue of 1 trillion baht this year. 

Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the agriculture sector employs roughly 27 million people, or around 40% of the total labour force. This includes 7.4 million households and covers key economic crops, namely rice, rubber, oil palm, corn and cassava, amounting to 87.7 million tonnes. In addition, secondary crops including fruit and three types of root crops (shallots, onions and garlic) amount to 24 million tonnes, while vegetables tally 96 million tonnes. These crops combined are valued at 1.32 trillion baht, representing 9% of GDP.

Agricultural export revenue last year amounted to 1.69 trillion baht.

However, the agricultural sector faces several uncertainties related to income, production and quality because of external changes that directly affect productivity and farmers' income, he said. The ministry has implemented measures to ease the problem of low prices and the glut of farm products, aiming to improve farmers' livelihoods, said Mr Phumtham.

The minister directed Vuttikrai Leewiraphan, commerce permanent secretary, and Wattanasak Sur-iam, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, to set fruit management measures for 2024 and promote secondary crops by coordinating with large conglomerates such as department stores, convenience stores and petrol stations to help purchase crops as part of their corporate social responsibility activities.

The 18 categories of secondary crops being monitored include 13 types of fruit -- durian, mangosteen, rambutan, longkong, longan, pineapple, lychee, pomelo, tangerines, marian plum, mango, lemon, tomato -- as well as pumpkins, chilli peppers, shallots, onions and garlic. Mr Phumtham said the ministry's agricultural measures increased economic value by 23% compared with last year, while raising farmers' income by almost 200 billion baht.

He said the efforts generated revenue of 1.05 trillion baht, up from 857 billion baht last year.Large conglomerates and other entities in the partner network include PTT, Charoen Pokphand Foods, petrol stations, industrial estates, hospitals, retail and wholesale stores, local department stores, housing developments, as well as the Department of Corrections. The goal is to reduce the oversupply of fruit and vegetables by up to 321,579 tonnes, according to the ministry.