Thailand eyes more pet food exports to Taiwan and Japan

The Thai government is urging local pet food companies to do more business with Taiwan and Japan which, as export destinations, offer two advantages: close proximity and abundant demand.

The renewed interest in Taiwan came after the Ministry of Commerce and over a dozen Thai businesses had a fruitful time at the Taipei Pets Show from July 5-8, 2024. The Thai delegation managed to bag over $2.5 million orders from 200 importers that include department stores and large retail shops in Taiwan, the ministry said.

Last year, Thailand exported US$87.18 million worth of pet food to Taiwan which translates to 33.05% of total pet food imports, making them the island-state's No. 1 exporter of dog and cat food. The ministry believes they can further increase the export value of Thai pet food, pet snacks and other lifestyle pet products to Taiwan in the coming months.

Similarly, Thai pet food makers are being asked to increase their export activities for the Japanese market, particularly for cat food. This latest trade advisory came from the Thai Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) based in Hiroshima, after noticing the dramatic shift in market size between dog food and cat food in Japan over the last couple of years.

Phannee Suwanpinton, chief of the DITP Hiroshima office, said cats have become the favorite household pets in Japan for a decade now. Last year, Japan kept about 9 million pet cats and 6.8 million pet dogs. The pet ownership rate is lower than other progressive countries, but Phannee assured Thai businesses that the Japanese are very willing to spend a lot on their pets, making Japan a competitive and abundant market.

Thailand is now the third largest exporter of dog and cat food to Japan. Japan is also Thailand's second biggest pet food export market valued at US$330 million last year.

The Thai government's call for more pet-related export activities to Taiwan and Japan is directed to the group of 5,009 registered pet businesses in the country with a collective capital of almost 100 billion baht (US$27.5 billion). Within this group, 2,138 are registered pet food producers, pet care and service companies.