Thailand's fresh fruit exports to China are expected to grow at least 10 percent this year, boosted by improved land transportation and cross-border trade facilitation measures, Thai media outlet The Thaiger reported. Keerati Rushchano, permanent secretary of Thailand's Ministry of Commerce, revealed that fresh fruit shipments from the border to China by land are expected to increase significantly in the next few years, with durians accounting for 80-90% of shipments.

Back in 2022, poor land transportation at the border affected Thai fruit exports. For the whole of last year, Thailand exported just 2.25 million tonnes of fruit to China, up 2.7% from a year earlier, but exports fell 2.5% from $5.17 billion to $5.04 billion. Thailand's fresh fruit exports to China are expected to reach 2.5 million tons this year, worth $5.59 billion.

Mr. Keerati recently led a team of senior commerce Ministry officials to Lang Son's Huu Nghi and Dong Dang train crossings to examine fruit shipping routes and processes in preparation for the April-August fruit season in Thailand. Yiguan and Tongteng ports are important transit points for Thai fruits to China's Yiguan ports. The Thai Ministry of Commerce has held discussions with senior officials in the province of Lang Son to seek cooperation in exporting Thai fruits through the two ports in border and cross-border trade.

Tongteng Railway port is connected with China's Pingxiang Railway port. It is about 171 kilometers away from Hanoi and just over 1 kilometer away from Vietnam's Friendship Pass port. Thailand mainly relies on this railway port to export durian to the Chinese market. During the 2022 season, about 10-20 containers of durians will be shipped to China through the railway port every day.

Data from Thailand's Ministry of Commerce showed that China's fruit imports amounted to $14.6 billion in 2022, with Thailand being the largest supplier. The top five fruits imported to China are bananas, green coconut, durian, dragon fruit and longan. China imported 523,000 tons of green coconuts from Thailand last year, and 95% of China's durian imports came from Thailand.

Thai fruits are mainly exported to China by sea (51%), land (48%) and air (0.54%). Overland transport is the preferred option for Thai exporters due to lower costs. The agriculture ministry has set a target for fresh and processed fruit exports of 4.44 million tonnes this year, up 10% from 4.04 million tonnes last year, worth 263 billion baht.

Keerati confirmed that the ministry is actively addressing the issue of border land transport of fresh fruit, which is expected to increase as exports increase in the future. The ministry proposed setting up a tripartite working group with Thailand, Vietnam and China to consult and resolve transport issues, communicate directly through an official hotline and streamline the process of resolving problems.

Doan Thu Ha, deputy chairman of the People's Committee in the province of Lang Son, confirmed that the province has accepted a proposal to form a tripartite working group to address cross-border goods transport issues and explore ways to strengthen trade and investment cooperation between Thailand and Vietnam. Chaichan Chareonsuk, president of Thailand's National Shippers Association, expects land shipments of fresh fruit to increase significantly this year as the economy gets back on track. He stressed that the Ministry of Commerce should actively cooperate with the private sector and relevant institutions to streamline cross-border transportation, which is crucial to maintaining the quality of fresh fruit exports, the Bangkok Post reported.