Thailand targets $3.5B durian exports in 2024

By Minh Hieu April 21, 2024 | 05:43 pm PT

A boy carries a durian fruit at a durian market in Bangkok, Thailand on July 17, 2007. Photo by Reuters

Thailand is poised to export approximately one million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion baht ($3.5 billion) this year, according to Thai PBS World.

In line with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s directives, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is tasked with drafting regulations to prevent the sale of unripe or inferior durians.

This includes setting dry weight standards for various durian varieties: 32% for Monthong, 30% for Chanee, and 28% for Kra Dum, as detailed by Chai Wacharonke, a spokesperson for Srettha, in The Nation.

The initiative aims to discourage the premature harvesting and selling of durians, thereby improving the fruit’s quality and export competitiveness, said Chai.

Furthering its commitment to quality and market stability, Thailand recently signed a memorandum of understanding with China to promote and secure stable prices for tropical fruit exports from Thailand to China, ECNS, the English platform of the Chinese state news agency China News Service, reports.

This agreement facilitates the importation of approximately 20,000 tons of durians and mangosteens, worth over 3 billion baht ($82.44 million), by China from Thailand from April to June this year.

Durian export, generating 120 billion baht in revenue last year, plays an increasingly crucial role in Thailand’s economy, according to Bangkok Post.

Thailand, producing 900,000 tons of durian annually, exports nearly two-thirds of this output primarily to China.