People in the food industry in Thailand have realized that the interest of Chinese consumers for healthy food brings great commercial opportunities for the organic food industry in Thailand. The Thai People's Paper reported on September 11th that Chinese consumer demand has shifted in the last 10 years from relatively unhealthy foods to food products that are rich in nutrients and have a reliable organic origin. Thailand hopes to manifest the great qualities of its agricultural production areas on the Chinese market.
Data from Europortal International shows that the Chinese market consumers about 40% of the global fruit and vegetable volume. Furthermore, the per capita consumption power in China increases by 9% per year, which means that their ability to purchase fruit and vegetables also increases every year. Chinese consumer demand for organic food is clear. The market share of organic packaged foods is expected to increase to almost 20% in 2018, which is much higher than in other countries in the Asian Pacific.
The Thai Agricultural Department has noticed the organic shift in the Chinese market and is encouraging the expansion of organic food production in Thailand to seize a share of the expanding organic market in China. One of the fruits that benefits from the organic shift in the Chinese market is the longan. Chinese e-commerce platforms have been cooperating with fruit importers from Thailand, and the sales volume of longan from Thailand suddenly has increased to 8-10 thousand tons.
Source: Global Times