As one of the most important agricultural crops of Thailand, fruit is exported in considerable quantity to China, Japan, the US, European Union and other places every year. With the establishment of ChinaASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), Thailand took the lead among ASEAN countries in signing a bilateral free-trade agreement on vegetables and fruit with China. Its value of fruit export to China has also been on the rise. China is the largest Thai fruit importer, while Thailand is the most significant fruit exporter to China. The advantages of Thai fruit export to China are its wide variety and unique flavors, as well as the advanced logistic system in Thailand.
Thailand’s geographical location and climate make it favorable to the growth of various tropical fruits. Its mountainous areas in the north are mainly planted with longan, mango and lychee trees. In its eastern coastal plains and southern regions, there are durians, bamboo fruits, rambutan, etc. The central valley plains are mainly planted with guava, lychee and carambola trees. Thai fruits are categorized into seasonal ones and perennial ones. The former includes mangos and wax apples that are on sale in April, durians and mangosteens in May, rambutans, lychees, and longans in the rainy season, and also grapes, pomelos, langsat, jackfruits, oranges, and loquat after the rainy season. The latter consists of bananas, papayas, watermelons, pineapples, coconuts and so on.
Thailand mainly produces over 50 kinds of fruits, 22 of which are allowed to enter China. They are tamarindus, tangerines, custard apples, oranges, pomelos, papayas, carambolas, guavas, rambutans, wax apples, jackfruits, Duku-Langsa, pineapples, ginseng fruits, bananas, passionflowers, coconuts, longans, durians, mangoes, lychees and mangosteens. The most popular ones among Chinese consumers are durians, longans, mangosteens, bananas, rambutans and lychees. In 2015, Thailand exported to China 298,793 tons of durians, 145,018 tons of longans, 97,185 tons of fresh and dried mangosteens, and 26,114 tons of fresh and dried bananas. These four types of fruits are the biggest Thai export to China in the past three years. Besides, in 2015, Thailand exported to China such fruits as lychees, wax apples, fresh mangoes and dried mangoes, mangosteens and pineapples.
Chinese fruit traders tend to deal with Thai fruit farmers, especially in Chumphon, Chanthaburi, Rayong and Trat provinces, and import fruits into China directly. A fruit trader said that currently Chinese merchants have controlled most of the fruit shipments and that approximately 1000 Chinese traders are doing business in Thailand. Faced with this trend, the Thai government will strengthen management and control on fruit trading. The Ministry of Commerce plans to require Chinese merchants to register and adopt standardized purchase contracts.
