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BBoreal Trade

Market · Thailand

Exporting Canadian food to Thailand

Agreement status and duty implication

Not in force: in negotiation. Global Affairs Canada records the Canada–Thailand Free Trade Agreement as “In negotiations”: a Notice of Intent to enter into negotiations was tabled on 24 November 2025, and public consultations ran from 13 December 2025 to 27 January 2026. Thailand is not a CPTPP party. A Canada–Thailand Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement has been in force since 24 September 1998, but it governs investment, not tariff treatment.

Thailand is not covered by the same agreement architecture as several of the other markets on this site, so the duty position here is more often a most-favoured-nation question than a preferential one. That makes tariff classification the variable that matters most: the line your product falls under determines the rate, and a plausible-looking neighbouring line can carry a materially different one. We publish the classification and the duty position per product with the source and the date. Where they read "available on request", we have not yet verified that line and will not estimate it.

Registration pathway

  1. 01 · Classify the product under Thai FDA categories

    Thai FDA

    Category determines whether a food serial number or a full registration is required.

    Typical duration: On request

  2. 02 · Appoint a Thai importer of record

    Commercial arrangement

    The Thai FDA licence is issued to a locally registered importer, not to the exporter.

    Typical duration: On request

  3. 03 · Importer obtains a food import licence

    Thai FDA

    A prerequisite to filing any product registration.

    Typical duration: On request

  4. 04 · Compile and file the product dossier

    Thai FDA

    Specification, process description, certificate of free sale and CFIA export certification.

    Typical duration: On request

  5. 05 · Thai-language label approval

    Thai FDA

    Label content and format are approved as part of the registration.

    Typical duration: On request

  6. 06 · Customs clearance and first import

    Thai Customs

    Duty treatment depends on tariff classification and any applicable preference.

    Typical duration: On request

Available on request: send your specification and destination and we'll confirm within five working days.

Who holds the registration

In Thailand the licence sits with the importer, not with you. A Thai FDA food import licence is issued to a locally registered importer, and product filings are made against it, which means the entity you appoint as importer is the entity holding the regulatory relationship with the authority. That has a direct commercial consequence: your route to market and your regulatory standing are bundled into the same counterparty, and separating them later is harder than structuring them correctly at the start. Before you appoint, ask what happens to the product filings if you change importer, and get the answer in the agreement rather than in an email.

Logistics

Main ports: Laem Chabang, Bangkok Port (Khlong Toei)

Transit from Vancouver: On request

Transit from Montreal: On request

Canadian suppliers registered for Thailand

Federally registered establishments in the categories where Canada publishes establishment numbers, with whatever Thailand has approved shown first.

Common questions

Is there a free trade agreement between Canada and Thailand?
Not in force: in negotiation. Global Affairs Canada records the Canada–Thailand Free Trade Agreement as “In negotiations”: a Notice of Intent to enter into negotiations was tabled on 24 November 2025, and public consultations ran from 13 December 2025 to 27 January 2026. Thailand is not a CPTPP party. A Canada–Thailand Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement has been in force since 24 September 1998, but it governs investment, not tariff treatment. This was read from Global Affairs Canada on 2026-09-01.
What are the steps to register a food product in Thailand?
6 stages: classify the product under thai fda categories, appoint a thai importer of record, importer obtains a food import licence, compile and file the product dossier, thai-language label approval, customs clearance and first import. Each is set out on this page with the authority that handles it.
Which authority regulates imported food in Thailand?
Thai FDA, Thai Customs. Which one you deal with depends on the stage: classification, the product filing and customs clearance are not handled by the same body.
Who holds the product registration in Thailand?
In Thailand the licence sits with the importer, not with you. A Thai FDA food import licence is issued to a locally registered importer, and product filings are made against it, which means the entity you appoint as importer is the entity holding the regulatory relationship with the authority.
What are the food labelling requirements in Thailand?
Thai-language labelling is a design constraint, not a translation task, and it is reviewed as part of the product filing rather than after it. That ordering matters: artwork is part of what the regulator approves, so a change to the label after approval is a change to the file.

From the library

Written about Thailand

  • Labelling for export

    Two official languages at home, a third at the border: label language for exporters

    Canada mandates English and French, permits other languages around them, and forbids them inside the Nutrition Facts table. Export destinations impose their own language on the same panel. Fitting all of it is a design constraint before it is a compliance one.

  • Labelling for export

    Product of Canada, Made in Canada, and the origin nobody asked you about

    Origin appears three separate times in an export file, governed by three different sets of rules, and they can legitimately give three different answers. The claim on the pack, the origin on the customs entry and the origin for preference are not the same question.

  • Twelve Canadian products we believe could travel well

    A shortlist, with the tariff position under each one. Some are obvious and priced accordingly. The interesting ones are where a high general rate meets a preference, because that is where an agreement does commercial work rather than paperwork.

  • Opportunities for Canadian lobster in Southeast Asian hospitality

    Vietnam charges 27 per cent on frozen lobster at the general rate and nothing under CPTPP. That single line is worth more than most Canadian seafood exporters spend on an entire market entry, and it is decided by paperwork rather than by the agreement existing.

  • Five hotel products that can be sourced from Canada

    Food service buys differently from retail: to a plate cost, a specification and a season, with no shelf to win. Five Canadian lines fit that channel in Southeast Asia, and the tariff position separates them sharply by market.

  • Why Canadian oats belong in premium Asian breakfast brands

    Vietnam charges nothing on raw oats and 15 per cent on rolled ones. CPTPP takes the rolled line to free, which is what makes it possible to export the branded product rather than the raw grain and hand the milling margin to somebody in-market.

  • Canadian ingredients for functional beverages

    Frozen wild blueberries face 30 per cent into Vietnam at the general rate and nothing under CPTPP. Whey protein and lactose are already free there. For a formulator building a drink, that is the difference between a Canadian ingredient and a substitute.

  • Why maple is more than pancake syrup

    Bulk and retail maple share one tariff line and are two completely different businesses. The customs schedule cannot tell them apart; the regulator, the buyer and your margin all can, and choosing which one you are in is the decision that sets everything else.

The whole library →

Sources

Last reviewed: September 1, 2026