Chili paste latest Thai product hoping to find a place on store shelves abroad.

Byline: Achadtaya Chuenniran

Oct. 5--Local and foreign tourists recognise Phuket as a resort island with some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. But not many know about nam prik kung siab (chili paste with dried shrimp), a favourite local product that Thais buy as a gift for relatives and friends during their visits to the island.

With full support under the government's policy to promote the One Tambon, One Product scheme (Otop), the local chili paste is now available at food shops and leading restaurants. Its package design is also being improved ahead of plans to export the product to foreign markets in the near future.

Ekkachai Kaisaeng, an academic at the Communication Development Office in Phuket, said the product was among a number of "folk wisdom" products selected last year to be developed as part of the Otop scheme.

The office planned to work on a marketing strategy for the product this year to ensure that quality, preservation and packaging meet international standards. A budget has been allocated to set up a packaging plant ahead of plans to export the product.

Located beside the Katu district office on the island, the factory has a monthly production capacity of 1,000 to 3,000 units with a shelf life of three months.

He said a two-phase plan had been established for product distribution. As part of the first phase, it has been sold at local trade fairs on the island and at a trade exhibition in Muang Thong Thani in which 36 local distributors, including four SMEs participated last year. Total sales of the product at the fairs reached nine million baht.