Global Courant
BANGKOK — The government in Thailand is being urged to hire lobbyists in the United States and the European Union to counter a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaign calling on consumers in both markets to boycott produced coconut milk.
Peta says in her campaign that monkeys are used to harvest coconuts on Thai plantations and that they are severely mistreated.
The campaign continues to affect coconut exports from Thailand, private sector sources said.
They say the Peta campaign is based on false information and are urging the government to hire lobbying firms to counter the campaign, which shows videos and images of monkeys being chained, abused and supposedly trained to eat coconuts. harvesting on Thai plantations.
Peta’s campaign is leading to a drop in consumer purchases and causing importers and traders in both the US and European markets to reduce purchases of Thai products, private sector sources say.
Thai coconut milk producers and exporters say they do not use monkeys in their harvesting or production.
Newer coconut plantations use so-called “dwarf” coconut trees, which are shorter and do not require climbing to harvest coconuts.
Thailand supplies about 80 percent of the world’s coconut milk.
Previously, the government and private sector jointly issued “Monkey Free Plus” certificates to assure consumers that certified companies were not harming animals in their supply chains.
The campaign failed to resonate with those influenced by Peta’s videos and photos.
The Department of International Trade Promotion recently teamed up with the Thai Food Processors Association to produce flyers and other materials to counter Peta’s visceral campaign.
Officials have also been in regular contact with importers and retailers who are aware that harvesting and production processes depend on people and machines.
However, if Peta’s campaign continues, Thai producers will lose market share to rivals in the Philippines and Sri Lanka. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
