Thai Durian Industry Looking To Expand China Sales

March 20, 2022

Tim

According to Thai media reports, the director of the Office of Agricultural Research and Development Region 6 in Thailand’s Chanthaburi province has revealed that the country’s durian production is expected to reach 740,000 tons this year, an increase of approximately 240,000 tons compared with 2021. Faced with this surge in production, a Thai government deputy spokesperson, Rachada Dhnadirek, said that Thailand had proposed to Chinese authorities at a recent meeting to ship Thai durians and other fruits to China via the newly completed China–Laos railway.

Thai officials also expressed the hope that Thai fruit shipments could be exempted from re-inspection at the Boten–Mohan border crossing to allow them to be transported directly to Kunming by high-speed rail. According to Dhnadirek, the request is expected to be approved and it is hoped that direct transportation can be implemented this month.

Dhnadirek added that Thailand hopes that China will permit COVID-free-certified durian exporters to avoid further stringent inspections at the land ports of Mohan, Youyi, Pingxiang and Dongxing. At present, 400 durian exporters have received training on GMP+ regulations and the COVID-free certification.

The Thai side also proposed to Chinese authorities to hold a joint meeting between Thailand, China, Laos and Vietnam to reach an agreement on a common protocol to speed up fruit imports and exports. The Thai proposal includes setting up a green channel at ports to speed up customs clearance and avoid fruit shipments going bad during transit.

Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Commerce are also working to develop markets in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Recently, Chalermchai Srion, Thailand’s minister of agriculture, held a meeting with the United Arab Emirates’ trade minister with the goal of exporting more agricultural and food products to the country.

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.