Thailand rides fruit boom with 10% export growth target in 2023
Thailand has targeted a 10% increase in its booming fresh and processed fruits exports to 4.44 million tonnes this year.
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has tasked the Commerce and Agriculture ministries to maintain the fruit boom with aggressive measures, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said on Monday.
The measures will cover production, domestic promotion, expansion of overseas markets, and trade talks to reduce tariffs and obstacles.
The Commerce Ministry has set a target of 100 billion baht for durian exports alone this year. One measure to help Thailand meet this target is reducing premature harvesting to prevent oversupply. Farmers will be instructed to stick to the ministry’s durian harvest schedule, which is designed to release fruit to the market when the price reaches its highest point.
Thailand’s fruit export business has been growing in double figures over the past few years despite the Covid-19 downturn.
Thailand’s durian exports will also get a boost from this month thanks to the opening of Thailand-Laos-China freight train route from Map Ta Phut in Rayong to Guangzhou, China. Train operator Pan-Asia Silk Road said the journey from Map Ta Phut to Guangzhou will take 5-6 days, offering a cheaper, faster and safer mode of cargo transport to China.
Separately, Sakon Nakhon province signed a memorandum of understanding to export 100 tonnes of snakehead murrel fish to Quang Binh province in Vietnam this year, Anucha said.
The agreement will help boost the income of fish farmers in the northeastern province as well as create new jobs in fish processing, he added.
