Thailand to face greater competition in fruit exports

Fruit is one of the key currency earners of Thailand. (Photo: VNA)

Bangkok (VNA) – Thai Deputy Minister of Commerce Napintorn Srisunpang has said Thai fruit exports will face more challenges in the future, especially in China’s market, due to greater competition.

In the first 10 months of this year, Thailand exported 1.74 million tonnes of fruits, up 12.7% year on year. The export value was worth 174.27 billion THB (5.06 billion USD), up 31.9% year on year.

The top five exported fruits were durian (965,284 tonnes), longan (274,064 tonnes), mangosteen (245,049 tonnes), mango (104,154 tonnes) and pineapple (36,618 tonnes).

China has been Thailand's top fruit importer, accounting for 91.6% of the total value, followed by Malaysia (2.0%), Hong Kong (China) (1.6%), Indonesia (1.0%) and the Republic of Korea (0.8%).

The deputy minister explained that Vietnam has gained advantage in durian exports due to a longer harvest period, so the country can meet the demand of the Chinese market when Thailand is in the production period.

The General Administration of Customs China has allowed Thailand to export 22 fruits, including tamarind, custard apple, papaya, star fruit, guava, rambutan, longkong, sapodilla, passion fruit, mandarin orange, orange, pomelo, pineapple, banana, coconut, jackfruit, longan, durian, mango, lychee, mangosteen and rose apple./.