The Commerce Ministry is moving ahead with its e-service development effort, allowing traders of nine key agricultural products to seek permission online to move farm goods.
Wattanasak Sur-iam, director-general of the Internal Trade Department under the Commerce Ministry, said the department has developed and rolled out an online system for issuing permission to move nine imported agricultural products within the country.
The nine products are garlic, onion, palm oil, fresh cassava and cassava chips, maize, mature coconut, white coconut meat and dried coconut meat, paddy rice, as well as wheat and barley used as raw materials for feed meal agricultural products.
Currently, the Central Committee on Prices of Goods and Services regulates the movement of such farm goods into or out of a designated locality or into Thailand with a controlled quantity requirement. There must be a document providing permission to supervise such movements.
The movement control measure helps ensure fair prices of domestic agricultural products and prevents any import from affecting local farmers' income from the possible smuggling of agricultural products into the country.
Export or import of controlled goods into any locality in Thailand will be liable to imprisonment for a term of not exceeding five years or a fine of not exceeding 100,000 baht or both.
Mr Wattanasak said the department has provided permission through a complete e-service for importer applicants nationwide since May 20 this year, in accordance with the policy of Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit.
The e-service can increase service efficiency in order to serve applicants more conveniently and support the new normal era brought about by the pandemic, he said.
Mr Wattanasak said entrepreneurs can apply for permission online to move such agricultural products via https://transport.dit.go.th/ca. It takes no more than 30 minutes at least one day in advance of the proposed movement, helping reduce service time and facilitate entrepreneurs who do not have to personally travel to the department to submit and receive documents.
Meanwhile, Thailand fared quite well in the export of tapioca products in the first four months of this year, with the volume rising 3.96 million tonnes, up 50% over the same period of last year, and value reaching US$1.42 billion, up 49% from last year.