Thai Seed Trade AssociationTHASTA was established in 2001 under Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce, with three membership categories – Ordinary (local seed production, research and development, and trade and marketing companies); Extraordinary (foreign seed companies and other local seed related companies); and Honorary. Membership includes R&D, production, marketing, import/export, wholesale and retail entities, and numbers more than 155. THASTA conducts seminars, trainings, and workshops aimed at capacity-building, and last November organized a Proficiency Testing on Seed Quality Inspection for Laboratory Staff workshop. They also conduct field trips locally and internationally: e.g., farm tours and country seed industry familiarization. Last October, they visited Gujarat for a field tour focused on the seed industry of western India in partnership with Bombay Super Hybrid Seeds Company. On 10-13 December, some 25 members joined the Guangdong Seed Expo 2019 Field Tour in China. THASTA organized the Thailand International Seed Trade 2019 with 225 domestic and regional participants, with the cooperation of the Department of Agriculture and the National Science and Development Agency (NSTDA). This year, the expo runs on 19 - 21 August. The top Thai seed exports listed as of October 2019 included field corn, tomato, peppers, watermelon, cucumber, sweet corn, bitter gourd, pumpkin, melon and kangkong (water spinach). The top ten imports were: tomato, cabbage, peppers, cucumber, coriander, ridge gourd, Chinese kale, lettuce, pakchoy and bitter gourd.
The above information is based on a presentation given during APSA's annual National Seed Associations meeting, held on 27 November, 2019. For the latest information about Thasta, visit their website directly.