Thailand's fruit exports are expected to stay intact this year in terms of value, as the international demand for Thai fruit -including the Chinese demand- remains strong despite the corona situation.
Paiboon Wongchotesathit, president of Thai Fresh Fruit Traders & Exporters Association, said the outbreak is unlikely to affect demand for Thai fruit, particularly from China, which is a major importer. He forecasts export values for Thai fruit to grow by at least 10% this year from 113 billion baht (€3.16 bln) last year.
Dept of Foreign Trade/Image: BKPgraphics
"We expect China's demand for Thai fruit is unlikely to fall from last year's figures," he said. "Higher consumption is anticipated, as Chinese people are not travelling abroad with the outbreak." Mr Paiboon said China's logistics services are expected to become fully operational next month, although the services have yet to resume in certain cities.
Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said to boost fruit exports this year the Thai and Chinese governments will team up to tackle redundancy in fruit quality inspection; speed up cross-border shipments to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia and Vietnam; and hold fruit fairs in key export markets.
Source: bangkokpost.com