Thailand is preparing to issue product standards to ensure the quality of its durian exports and maintain competitiveness among exporters.
Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had ordered the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to propose a draft ministerial regulation on durian standards to maintain the quality of durian exports and prevent unripe or substandard durians from being harvested for sale.
According to the regulation, durian should be packed and certified to ensure quality standards by meeting the minimum requirements for the dry weight of durian pulp, namely Monthong at 32%, Chanee at 30%, and Kra Dum at 28%.
The regulation is expected to come into effect in a year's time.
This initiative will help Thailand's durian exporters maintain quality standards and competitiveness as the country is the leading exporter of durian in the world market.
The durian industry is becoming increasingly important as its export revenues amounted to 120 billion baht in 2023.
Durian shipments reached 900,000 tonnes last year. Of the total, 300,000 tonnes were dispatched for domestic consumption, with the majority of the remainder exported to China.
Durian consumption in China has tended to increase continuously. It is anticipated that this year demand will rise by up to 1 million tonnes, while it is expected to increase 15-fold, or by 15 million tonnes, in the future.
Thailand aims to increase the value of durian exports by up to 1 trillion baht in the future.
The Office of Agricultural Economics anticipates an increase this year in the durian harvest, covering 424,729 rai, compared with 390,177 rai last year, with production projected to reach roughly 823,989 tonnes, an increase of 6% or 46,984 tonnes from 2023.
The produce will enter the market between March and August, with a peak period in May.
Extreme weather and aspects of climate change, including El Nino, have affected the flowering of durian trees, causing a large number of trees to fail to bloom or the flowers to fall off prematurely, which significantly reduces the output of premium durian varieties.
Kasikorn Research Center predicts that the value of Thai durian exports to China will reach US$4.5 billion in 2024, an increase of 12% from 2023.
Even though demand for fresh Thai durian in the Chinese market continues to increase, it will still encounter more competitive pressure in the future, according to Kasikorn Research Center.