The Department of Business Development (DBD) has instructed its officials in Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram and Ratchaburi provinces to monitor the production of bottled coconut juice closely, to ensure that the product is not adulterated.
The department director general, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn said today that the number of bottles of coconut juice being produced, be they fragrant coconut juice or ordinary juice, must correspond with the number of coconuts used in the production process.
Adulterated coconut juice in bottles has been blamed by coconut farmers for a sharp drop in the prices of fresh coconuts in the past several months, affecting the revenue of coconut growers. In April, the price of fragrant coconut dropped to 3 baht per unit, compared to their 7 baht production cost.
Poonpong said that the department has asked the Central Investigation Bureau and the Office of the Consumers Protection Board to deal harshly with producers of the adulterated coconut juice, adding however that the crackdown has pushed up the farm-gate prices to 9-10.50 baht per unit.
Meanwhile, Sukanda Rattanakosum, deputy chief executive officer of a major producer of coconut juice, has claimed that their products are exported to numerous countries, including China, Japan, Vietnam, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Laos.
The company has a total beverage production capacity of over 1,000,000 bottles per day, including coconut water and utilises 200,000 litres of 100% natural coconut water daily from sources in Ratchaburi, Samut Songkhram, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Songkhla.
