Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat announced an inquiry into Rapeepat Chansriwong, director-general of the Agriculture Department, following allegations of bribery in the testing of Basic Yellow 2 (BY2) in durians for export. Rapeepat was reassigned to an inactive role at the ministry's headquarters, as per an order by permanent secretary Prayoon Inskul.
The reassignment followed a complaint from durian exporters, accusing Rapeepat of accepting bribes from a private entity claiming to conduct BY2 testing for the department. The complaint highlighted that this company requested exporters to transfer testing fees to its online account, despite the Agriculture Department not finalizing a certified service provider for the tests.
Narumon stated that Inspector-General Ing-Orn Panyakit would temporarily assume the role of Agriculture Department director-general during the investigation. The BY2 issue gained national attention when 64 tonnes of durians were destroyed after being rejected by China due to contamination with yellow dye. BY2 is used to artificially enhance durian color, and some exporters allegedly used it to make the fruit appear more appealing.
The department has suspended the export licenses of 26 wholesalers involved in shipping the contaminated durians to China. A new regulation will require all durians exported from Thailand to undergo laboratory testing for BY2. Annually, Thailand exports durians worth approximately $3.9 billion to China, where they hold a 57% market share.
Source: The Nation