Thailand’s exports of instant noodles soared in the first quarter of this year, especially in Southeast Asia, thanks to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported according to the Department of Trade Negotiations.

Director-general of the department, Auramon Supthaweethum said, the pandemic caused people to stay home and thus increasingly demand dried and instant food that could be stored for a long period.

Auramon said, Thailand’s instant noodle exports grew by 11 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year and their export value amounted to US$57.8 million.

Southeast Asia was the biggest market, consuming 54.8 per cent of all the exports.

Thailand exported instant noodles worth US$31.7 million to Southeast Asian nations during the period. The value increased by 27.3 per cent year-on-year.

Cambodia was the biggest Southeast Asian market, consuming half the exports to the region, followed by Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

The second biggest market was the Netherlands that bought 9.2 per cent of all Thai instant noodle exports, followed by the United States (6.6 per cent), Australia (5.1 per cent) and France (3.1 per cent).

Last year Thailand was the third biggest exporter of processed noodles following China and South Korea.

Auramon said, that Southeast Asia was an important market of instant noodles and deserved serious consideration because of its huge population.

According to her, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia were among the top 15 countries in terms of instant noodle consumption.

In 2019 Thailand’s instant noodle exports to Southeast Asian nations were valued at US$119.35 million, growing by 31 per cent from 2018. - BERNAMA