Prospects for fruit exports to China are more promising after Beijing allowed fruit transport from Thailand via the Laos-China high-speed railway.
Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said the construction of the imported fruit quarantine inspection point at Mohan train station was completed and is scheduled to open on Saturday.
Previously Thai fruit were transported by train from Vientiane to Boten on the China-Laos border before being trucked to the mainland.
The Mohan inspection point has been certified by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC). On Nov 30, GACC announced the list of imported fruit inspection control locations on its website, with Mohan train station ready to inspect imported fruit in line with GACC regulations.
Yunnan Provincial Development and Reform Commission is scheduled to hold the opening ceremony for the fruit inspection facility at Mohan checkpoint today, marking the first anniversary of the opening of the Laos-China rail service.
"The opening of the Mohan fruit checkpoint is a good sign. It provides another opportunity for exporters and importers of Chinese and Thai products, reducing costs and transport time while improving convenience," said Mr Jurin. "This should help the shipment of perishable agricultural products such as vegetables and fruit to southern China and throughout the mainland."
The Commerce Ministry predicted outbound fruit shipments to grow by 15% this year to 288 billion baht.
Of the total, 180 billion baht is expected to stem from China, up 65% from a year before.
The lofty export target was attributed to higher demand for Thai fruit and higher production in the 2022 harvest season.
According to an Internal Trade Department report, overall fruit production in the 2022 harvest season is projected to increase by 13% to 5.43 million tonnes, mainly led by durian (up 22%), mangosteen (up 43%), longan (up 7.8%), rambutan (up 6%) and mango (up 5%).
Some 30% of production is slated for domestic consumption and 70% for exports. Of the export markets, China is Thailand's main fruit export market, accounting for 65%, followed by the US (10%), Hong Kong (4%), Vietnam (3%) and Malaysia (1%).
