Chinese hunger for Thai durian drives up exports
China’s appetite for Thai durian drove a 31-per-cent rise in exports of fruit and vegetables under the Asean-China free-trade agreement (FTA) in the first 5 months of the year.
Durian totalled 48.51 per cent of trade under the FTA worth US$1.19 billion (Bt36.68 billion) between January and May.
Auramon Supthaweethum, Commerce Ministry director of trade negotiations, said the Thai market has benefited ever since China scrapped tariffs on Asean-grown vegetables and fruit in 2003. The value of the market increased by 1,312 per cent between 2003 and 2018, from $136.5 million to $1.92 billion.
Thailand is the largest exporter of fruit and vegetables to China. Last year, $909.6 million in Thai fruit and veg was exported to China, representing a growth rate of 784 per cent since the FTA came into effect. However, overall trade under the FTA dropped 33 per cent in the first five months of 2019, to $361.1 million.
Cassava makes up 96 per cent of vegetable exports, according to official figures, with beans and dried veg accounting for the rest. Meanwhile the fresh fruit market has grown 2,841 per cent to around US$1.01 billion, lying third behind only Hong Kong and Chile. In the first five months of 2019, a 123 per cent growth in trade was driven by exports of durian, followed by longan, mangosteen and young coconut.
Thailand has always enjoyed a positive balance of trade in fruit and veg with China. Thailand had a trade surplus of Bt100.22 million before the FTA deal, but this has been exceeded by more than eight times in just the first five months of 2019, with a trade surplus of Bt854.75 million.
“Many countries, including Thailand and China, are now paying more attention to quality control and consumer safety, Auramon noted.
“Thai exporters’ fruit and vegetables now pass universal standards such as the Good Agricultural Practice test, Pest Risk Analysis, Maximum Residue Limits test, and Good Manufacturing Practices test,” he added.
“To avoid the risk of losing opportunities to exporting fruit and veg to China, we urge Thai farmers and traders to pay close attention to said standards, including farm and packing house registration, which can be used to trace produce when any problems occur.”
