China is an important fruit export market in Thailand. According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, in 2022, China was the largest export market of durian in Thailand, accounting for 96% of its total export volume, with an export value of US$ 3.09 billion. The export target of durian set by Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce this year is 100 billion baht (US$ 1 is about 34 baht). In the first two months alone, the sales volume in China has reached 35,000 tons, 2.4 times higher than the same period last year. Chalengchai, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, said: "Thanks to the China market, the planting area of durian and other fruits in Thailand has been expanding, the income of fruit farmers has been increasing, and more and more Thai fruits have entered the China market."
Yunnan Mohan Railway Port Entry Fruit
"With the China market, the fruit business in Thailand is particularly good"
In the evening, Thailand’s Cheuk Chuen suddenly became lively, and traffic jams began at the crossroads. Large container trucks and pickup trucks filled with durians lined up along Highway 3. "In eastern Thailand, the output of durian in Chien Chuen province is the largest, accounting for about 70% of the total. From April to June every year, the evening in Tsim Bamboo House is more lively than during the day. Durian is sensitive to temperature and needs to avoid light as much as possible. The acquisition, sorting, packing and filing of durian all start in the evening and last all night. " Banya, director of the Agriculture Bureau of Tsim Chuk Veng, said.
Eastern Thailand, including the provinces of Tsim Chuen, Luo Yong and Bazhen, is the most important fruit growing area in Thailand. Driving from Bangkok to the southeast, the roadside is green everywhere, and you can see large orchards from time to time. The Nengsong Market in Chien Chu is the largest durian market in Thailand, with thousands of durian stalls, large and small.
"This year’s business is particularly good." The owner, Aigeshan, has been running durian business here for more than 10 years, and has three shops. He said that in the near future, it can sell more than 10 tons a day at most, and both local wholesalers and merchants from China, Viet Nam and Cambodia come to purchase. At present, the wholesale price is 80-100 baht per kilogram. Aigeshan said: "China customers want AB-grade durian with good price and large sales volume, which is the best market for Thai fruit."
At a durian sorting factory in Cheuk Chuen, Thailand, the staff are sorting durians. Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Teng photo.
Dozens of workers are busy sorting, weighing, packing and loading durian in Tamai County, Jianzhu County. Several pickup trucks are lined up, and the workers in the trucks praise and guess to throw durian. The partners under the trucks skillfully catch it, tap the durian gently with a wooden stick to judge the maturity, and then blow off the dust and debris on the surface with a blowing pipe, and put it into different baskets according to the size. In the peak season, this factory can produce nearly 100 tons of durian in one night.
"’Sister You’ is my mother’s name, and three generations of our family are doing durian business. After I graduated from Bangkok University of Commerce majoring in computer science, I returned to my hometown to engage in durian industry. Now many descendants of fruit farmers choose to return home and use knowledge to develop orchards. With the China market, Thailand’s fruit business is particularly good. " Zhu Tatai, the owner of the factory, said that three months after the acquisition in the east, he would return to his hometown, Chunpeng House in the south, where durian ripened about three months later than in the east. His factory exports thousands of tons of durian to China every year.
At present, there are at least 700 durian sorting factories in Tsim Chuen Prefecture, which are dedicated to the China market. Ben Liang, a fruit grower, said: "China merchants are frank, sincere and have a pleasant cooperation. We are all looking forward to selling more Thai fruits to China. "
"China-Laos Railway special train makes our fruit transportation more convenient"
Since April, durian, mangosteen and other tropical fruits in Southeast Asia have been on the market in large quantities. Every day, a fruit train enters China through China-Laos Railway and is sent to Kunming, Chengdu, Guangzhou and other major cities. Since the beginning of this year, as of April 28th, China-Laos Railway has transported 11,000 tons of mangosteen, durian and other fruits.
In the "Youjie" durian picking and packing factory, generally about 4 kilograms of durians, 5-6 can be packed into a box, each sea container can hold about 1008 boxes, and a factory can hold 5 containers and about 30,000 durians every night. The next day, the truck set out for Lianchabang Port by sea, or sailed to the border of Laos and Vietnam and entered China. At present, Thai fruits are exported to China market by three ways, including 51% by sea, 48% by land and 0.54% by air. The opening of China-Laos Railway has brought new opportunities for Thai fruits to be exported to China.
At a durian sorting factory in Cheuk Chuen, Thailand, the staff are sorting durians. Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Teng photo.
"In the past, durian was mainly transported to China by road and sea, which was greatly influenced by uncertain factors such as weather, and sometimes the transportation time was as long as 20 days. After the opening of China-Laos Railway, durian will arrive in Kunming in 3-4 days from Thailand, so we can export durian with higher maturity and better taste. The China-Laos Railway special train makes our fruit transportation more convenient. " Aaron Gong, adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, said.
Yang Tai Group has been engaged in Thailand’s fruit import and export trade for more than 20 years. The company exports tens of thousands of tons of fruit to China every year, most of which are sold to wholesale markets in Beijing and Guangzhou. Yang Ju, president of the company, said: "China-Laos Railway has short transportation time and high stability. Railway transportation not only ensures the quality of durian but also reduces operating costs."
According to reports, durian can be transported from Thailand to Chongqing in 4-5 days and Guangzhou in 5-6 days after being transported by China-Laos Railway. "China-Laos Railway’s transportation and customs clearance are very fast. The first batch of fruits took only five days from the Thai factory to the Guangdong, China market." The relevant person in charge of Thailand PAS Company, which is engaged in the transportation and export of durian and mangosteen to China, said that the opening of durian train will open up a new road for the export of durian in Thailand, and this year’s goal is to export 700-1,000 containers of various Thai products through this route.
"The income of Thai fruit farmers, buyers and exporters continues to increase"
From time to time, reporters saw the giant billboard of "Building the Fruit Capital of the World" on the streets of Tsim Chuen House. In 2018, Thailand approved the strategic plan for fruit development and set the goal of building Thailand into a major tropical fruit trading country in the world.
In recent years, the Thai government has strengthened the management and support of the fruit industry, including inspecting plantations, helping enterprises and farmers distribute fruits, and improving the mobility of exporters. Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives often organize farmers, purchasers, exporters, logistics and transportation service providers, foreign business representatives and commercial bureaus in fruit-rich areas to discuss how to strengthen fruit management, and formulate a number of measures, including speeding up inspection and certification, helping enterprises or farmers to export fruits as agents, and helping exporters solve working capital.
On April 19th, Thai durian arrived in Kunming through China-Laos Railway.
In this year’s fruit sales management, Thailand has set up a working group composed of government departments and the private sector to promote Thailand’s fruit export, which is responsible for supervising the production and marketing situation and coordinating and solving the fruit export problems. The Director of the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, Mr. Sapipa, said that the Department of Agriculture requires all departments to follow all steps from the source to the downstream. The source is the orchard, the middle reaches is the packaging factory, and the downstream is the inspection and quarantine gates of various plants. All departments must cooperate with each other to jointly maintain and improve the quality and standards of durian and other fruits in Thailand.
Banya said: "Quality is the most critical. In all aspects of planting, cultivation, picking and transportation, the government management department and the private sector cooperate to strictly control all fruit orchards to ensure the quality of Thai fruits."
The Ministry of Commerce of Thailand predicts that 70% of Thailand’s fruit production will be exported to the international market this year, with China as the largest export destination. Yin Mengshi, the government of Chien Chuen, said: "The strong demand in China market has promoted the development of durian industry in Thailand, and the income of Thai fruit farmers, buyers and exporters has continued to increase."
Zhu Lin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of Thailand, expressed the hope to further increase fruit exports to the China market this year. "China is an important trading partner of Thailand, especially in the fields of agricultural products and fruits. With the support of China, Thai fruits can go to the world faster and help build Thailand into a world tropical fruit trading country. "
Wonderful in the past
Original title: "It all depends on it! The entry of durian from Thailand into China has been reduced from 20 days to 3-4 days.
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