Cocoa added to special watchlist

The committee on agriculture and cooperatives policy and development has added cocoa to the list of crops under the supervision of a sub-committee on horticultural crops.
Ekkaphap Polsue, spokesman for the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, said the inclusion of cocoa will allow the sub-committee to support farmers, promote the crop and solve problems related to it.
The other crops on the list overseen by the sub-committee on horticultural crops include coffee, tea, pepper and longan.
Mr Ekkaphap said the committee, chaired by Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat, has also agreed to revise the composition of the sub-committee on horticultural crops.
The sub-committee will include representatives from the Marketing Organisation for Farmers (MOF) and undergo a restructuring to allow it to manage problems better.
The proposed changes will be submitted to the minister for approval, Mr Ekkaphap said.
Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), said the cocoa market is growing, and its value is projected to exceed US$20 billion by 2028, up from $16 billion last year.
He cited data from the European Union’s Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI).
The supply of cocoa from the middle of last year to the middle of this year was reduced due to the El Nino phenomenon, which caused the prices to continue rising. In January, the price in the global market reached $6.6 (230 baht) per kilogramme, up 83.3% on-year.
Cocoa production in Thailand was 1,256 tonnes in 2022 or 0.02% of global production, but this rose to 3,360 tonnes last year.