Thai food and agricultural companies are being advised to boost their productivity and food safety through the application of Internet of Things, robotics in value chains, and drone technology for plantation and agricultural biotechnology such as genetic engineering.
Vasit Taepaisitphongse, chief executive and president of Betagro Group, one of Thailand's biggest agro-industrial and food companies, said on Wednesday at a seminar that the industry was increasingly facing challenges to meet the global demand for food.
He said Betagro has transformed the way it operates its business by incorporating new technologies to increase productivity and ensure food safety.
"Since we passed the Covid-19 pandemic and African swine flu outbreaks, the company has improved our digital transformation and focused more on plant-based protein, cold storage and e-commerce to serve an ageing society," Mr Vasit said.
"We are bracing for food innovations, trends and technology that include alternative protein, nutraceuticals, e-commerce, food safety and transparency, and supply chain resilience."
He said alternative proteins are coming that may disrupt traditional proteins, while cell culture-based protein is likely to become a future food technology.
Global trends that may impact the food and agro industries include sustainability, climate change, food security and food safety, and the energy crisis, said Mr Vasit.
Prasit Boondoungprasert, chief executive of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc, said the company has applied certain technologies to make its business competitive.
For example, it used technology to create smart silos, increasing farming performance and productivity from healthy animals with fully automated operations, he said.
"However, the business will operate successfully if the company is capable of foreseeing global trends, following and then capitalising on them," said Mr Prasit.
He said there are five relevant consumer trends: healthy food and wellbeing; convenience and freshness; channel innovation; premium and value for money; and environmental sustainability.
"After the pandemic, more people are thinking about good products and the freshness of food. They also require a lot of convenience, ordering products at any time they want," said Mr Prasit.
"Therefore, we have to improve our operation. Companies have to be careful now as consumers are willing to try new things all the time thanks to technology. We have to speed up our operation to have new products available as quickly as possible."
Vivek Dhawan, chief executive of Mega Lifesciences, said Thailand has an opportunity to become the wellness capital of the world, based on his opinion that the country has outstanding medical facilities, the best doctors, the best pharmacies and alternative medicines, the best services in the world such as massage therapies, and the best hotels.
"As a country, if we can put it all together and develop a proper ecosystem, we can create magic to develop Thailand as the wellness capital of the world," he said.
