At
US$10 billion, Thailand's share
is a mere 0.2% of the global total food trade estimated
by FAO to be worth US$5.5 trillion in 1999. The tiny kingdom
ranked a distant 15th in 1997, exporting barely 1/7th
of the USA's trade value for food.
There are over 10,000 food
manufacturing companies in Thailand but 96% are SMEs
.
Thailand Food&Beverage Sector Structure
source: Chulalongkorn University Intellectual Property
Institute
World
Food Trade in 1997
Country
Billion
US$
Country
Billion
US$
USA
45.3
AUSTRALIA
12.6
FRANCE
27.8
ITALY
11.6
NETHERLAND
21.7
DENMARK
10.7
GERMANY
17.8
ARGENTINA
9.9
BELGIUM
14.5
UK
9.5
CANADA
14.2
BRAZIL
8.1
SPAIN
13.8
THAILAND
7.3
CHINA
13.8
NEWZELAND
6.3
source: National Food
Institute, Compiled Statistical Data, May 2000
Top
Ten Food Companies
Global ( Million US$)
Rank
Company
Revenues'99
Profits'99
1
Nestle
49,504
2,961
2
Unilever
44,908
3,270
3
ConAgra
23,840
613
4
Sara Lee
20,011
-523
5
Nabisco
17,037
-577
6
ADM
16,109
-404
7
Danone
14,384
665
8
IBP
12,849
190
9
Snow Brand
9,887
24
10
Heinz
9,209
802
Source
: Fortune Global 500
The sales revenues
of Thai food companies are peanuts compared to those of their
American and European counterparts. The number one food company
on the Fortune Global 500 list earned 57 times more than the
largest Thai food and beverage company. In 1999, the profits
of the multinational giant, Nestle, amounted to 97 times of
the 1997 profit of the most profitable food company in Thailand.
