On April 23rd, the Italian Ambassador to Thailand Lorenzo Galanti reported the publication on the Thai Official Gazette of the export protocol for Italian apples.
It is an exceptional result fruit of the close collaboration of all parties involved - producers through Assomela and CSO Italy, the Ministry for Agricultural Policy, ICE offices in Italy and Bangkok, the Italian embassy in Thailand and the EU delegation in the country. After over a year of negotiations, Italian apples will be exported as of the next season.
After the meeting held in May between Ambassador Galanti and Assomela representatives with the Thai Department for Agriculture in Bangkok, the local authorities quickly drafted a "Pest Risk Assessment" and visited Italy already in September 2019.
The protocol has become effective on April 23rd and will enable Italian producers to export their apples as of the next season. During the spring and summer months, operators will set up and perform checks and list orchards and processing facilities to be ready for the 2020/21 campaign.
Thailand is one of the South-East Asian countries where the distribution system is better organized and has a great potential for Italian producers, whose latest investments enable them to have varieties that meet the preferences of Thai consumers.
It will take great consistency and coordination to become the protagonists of the Thai market, but the main Italian consortia and players have all the experience, capabilities and organizational skills needed.
"Over the past few years, guaranteeing more commercial outlets to our producers has been one of the main objectives of Assomela. We are particularly proud we have managed to guarantee access to the Thai market in such a short time," reported Assomela director Alessandro Dalpiaz.
"After getting the green light by the Thai authorities, we are ready to do everything necessary to make this market accessible to other Italian products such as kiwifruit, pears, table grapes and citrus fruit. We are hoping to replicate the excellent work done for apples with other products as well," stresses Simona Rubbi, international relations manager at CSO Italy,