Food, Agriculture, Beverages (FAB)

The EABC Food, Agriculture and Beverage (FAB) Working Group comprises of European businesses in Thailand that operate in the areas of food, agriculture, and beverage industries. The resumption of EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations will accelerate an improvement in business climate and enhancement of trade and investment opportunities between both economic zones. In 2022, agri-food trade is accounted for 8%-9% of the total value of trade between European Union (EU) and Thailand, amounted USD41 billion. 

Objectives of the Food, Agriculture, and Beverages Working Group

The FAB Working Group (WG)’ core objectives are to pursue effective policy advocacy and partner with government and non-government stakeholders aimed at enhancements of trade and investment opportunities, level playing field as well as ease of doing business. The WG aim to be a thought leader and initiator of breakthrough and value-added solutions to matters in relation to Food, Beverages and Agriculture, a creator of consensus in the European business community and wider.   

Some key policies that the WG focus on are as following:  

• Enhance ease of doing business and regulatory reform (Regulatory Guillotine)  
• Support EU-Thailand Free Trade negotiations to minimize tax burdens and market access  
• Pursue fair and transparent taxation policy – excise tax and earmarked tax  
• Grow e-commerce for food and beverages including beverage alcohol products  
• Promote ESG among the member companies supporting the government’s national agenda 
• Drive a balanced policy that enables ‘win-win’ solutions for public heath goal and economic goals 
• Enhance food security and agri-trade according to the international market requirements 
• Improve agricultural productivity, quality and food safety along the productions of agricultural value chains through facilitation of access to innovation and technology 
• Support agriculture sustainability trends, which include a focus on transparency, circular economies, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Information about Working Group Chair

Pongsin Thepruangchai is Yara’s Government Relations and Public Affairs Manager for Thailand and Myanmar. In this role, he is responsible for building and leading the company’s government and stakeholder relations in these dynamic markets.

Pongsin was previously a diplomat with the Thai Foreign Service for over a decade, where he worked on international economic affairs, political affairs, public affairs and strategic communications.  He also had a posting in Mexico City between 2014-2017, where he headed the Royal Thai Embassy’s public affairs team and served as the Embassy’s Political Affairs Officer. His last diplomatic assignment was as the Thailand-US Political Affairs Officer, during which he received the Thai Civil Service Award.

Pongsin currently leads Yara’s engagements with the Thai public sector and other stakeholders to drive collaboration on regenerative agriculture, digital farming, and sustainability. In this role, he also represents Yara Thailand in a number of trade associations, and has served as a board member of the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (TNCC) since 2024, Vice-Chair of the Food, Agriculture, and Beverages working group at the European Association of Business and Commerce (EABC) since 2025, and most recently as Chair of the Food, Agriculture, and Beverages working group in 2026.

Pongsin was born in Belgium, and grew up in Mexico, Thailand, and the United States. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from California State University Northridge and a Master of Science in Business Administration from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Pongsin currently lives in Bangkok with his wife and daughter.  When not working, he enjoys outdoor activities and writing blogs on arts and culture.  Pongsin is also a big fan of basketball, rock music, and pop art.