Kunming central to promotion of Thai fruits across all Chinese provinces
The Commerce Ministry aims to promote the sale of Thai fruits to every province of China, so that produce such as longan and durian – popular among Chinese consumers – has markets in all seasons.
The ministry plans to use southern China to link the sales drive across every Chinese province, with important strategic cities such as Kunming and Pingxiang being used as key areas to support Thailand to become a “super-power” of fruit production, it announced on Monday.
The government wishes to see Thai entrepreneurs use opportunities created by the state to sell fruits and other types of products through various channels, having paved the way and sought cooperation with China.
The ministry has adopted an export strategy of penetrating new markets which are secondary cities, maintaining existing markets and promoting e-commerce and supporting Thais to invest in foreign markets in order to create opportunities for the Kingdom to become a sustainable fruit-producing country, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said.
Banjongjitt Angsusingh, deputy permanent secretary of the ministry, added that the value of Thai exports globally from January to June had come in at US$125.81 billion (Bt4.11 trillion), surging 11 per cent from the same period last year.
The value of trade between Thailand and China in the first half was more than $39.4 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 12.33 per cent.
Thai exports to China in the period were worth $14.81 billion, while imports from China came in at $24.61 billion.
China has developed to become Asia’s trade centre, with Kunming being the heart of a southern Chinese market with high potential for the import of products and services from across the world, especially products produced by foreign companies that have invested in the city, Banjongjitt said.
These products have witnessed strong growth and Kunming has become an important retail market in China, she added.
