Chinese Companies Sign Thai Durian Deal Worth Over $300 Million

Thai durian distributor Queen Frozen Fruit Co. Ltd. and a consortium of Chinese state enterprises have recently signed an agreement on the export of durians, according to the National News Bureau of Thailand. Under the agreement, 3,000 containers of fresh durians and 2,000 containers of frozen durians will be sent from Thailand to China, with the fresh durian portion alone worth an estimated 10 billion Thai baht ($296 million).

The document signing ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Prapat Pothasuthon. He spoke in support of the newly established cooperation, which, in his opinion, translates into secure orders and revenue for Thai farmers and other export-related businesses. Pothasuthon stressed that the ministry will coordinate with relevant entities on adherence to the obligations of the agreement.

Waranyaphak Simahatthanawekhin, chairperson of Queen Frozen Fruit, said that durians have become extremely popular among Chinese consumers, with approximately 600 containers of the fruit being imported into the country daily. Monthong, Kan Yao and, more recently, Nam Dam are considered the most preferred Thai durian varieties in China. Evaluating the prospects of Nam Dam durians, Simahatthanawekhin said that the country’s durian export portfolio could be greatly diversified if growers expanded the planting area for this variety.

Queen Frozen Fruit has been exporting durians to China for several years and was a major supplier to JD.com for its Super Durian Day in 2018, which set a daily record for durian e-commerce sales that year. Apart from JD.com, the company’s products are sold on Tmall. Thailand is by far the main supplier of durians to China, with a market share of 95% in terms of both volume and value in 2022.

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