Bangkok (VNA) - The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry of Thailand is set to improve quality control on all export fruits after Chinese customs checkpoints were ordered to strictly check Basic Yellow 2 lab test results on durians.
A meeting of the ministry’s fruit board was held on January 14 after Thai export durians were rejected at Nanning Wuxu International Airport for not attaching lab-test results for organic compounds used for fabrics, paper, leather and house paint.
The World Health Organisation has declared Basic Yellow 2 as comprising group 2B carcinogens, which could put people at risk of developing cancer.
The board has approved raising quality control on export fruits to 100%, covering cadmium, durian worms and sulphur dioxide in longans. Violators could face penalties.
Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat said the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and relevant agencies have deployed officials to fruit-packing houses to check fruit quality, especially in Chumphon and Nakhon Si Thammarat, where new batches of durians are gradually released to the market.
She noted the ministry will implement new fruit quality control within 10 days to boost consumers’ confidence in Thai durians. It has collaborated with the Department of Internal Trade under the Commerce Ministry to deal with durian prices.
Thailand will talk with the General Administration of Customs of China to affirm its strict measures to boost confidence in the quality of Thai vegetables and fruits, the official added.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Thailand exported 1.82 million tonnes of fruits worth 134.95 billion THB (nearly 3.9 billion USD) in 2024, including 824,777 tonnes of durian and 375,327 tonnes of longan.
The department has plans to export longans to the Philippines in a bid to further expand fruit exports./.
