The Government of Thailand has informed the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the opening of its market for table grapes and pears from Spain, following intense collaboration between the governments of both countries.
Thailand unilaterally closed its market to Spanish fruit for phytosanitary reasons back in 2010. Negotiations were not resumed until 2017, and that process has finally come to an end. During the negotiation, the Spanish administration has provided plenty of technical information that confirms the phytosanitary safety of the Spanish productions.
As part of this process, the authorities of the Department of Agriculture of Thailand conducted a specific audit visit during the first half of last August, which had a satisfactory result and led to the proposal of new import protocols for these two fruits.
The Thai authorities have informed that they will now submit the proposal to the Plant Quarantine Committee for processing and official publication, and will confirm, as soon as possible, the exact date of its entry into force. It is expected that the markets will be reopened for export next season.
"The Thai market is not expected to absorb large volumes, but having access to it will help in preventing an excessive concentration of the supply in the European markets, and provide opportunities for the further growth of our exports. One of our objectives is to ensure that 30% of the table grapes exported by Spain go to markets outside the EU, excluding the United Kingdom," said Joaquín Gómez, president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruit, Table Grapes and other Agricultural Products, APOEXPA, which accounts for most of Spain's table grape production.
In Thailand, Spanish table grapes will compete with U.S. produce. "U.S. grape varieties are very similar to ours, although we could be more competitive in terms of prices."
Also, the Thai authorities have decided, for the first time, to authorize a cherry warehouse located in Spain to carry out cold treatments at origin, which will facilitate the export of this fruit. During their visit to Spain last August, Thai technicians reported that Spain would be, after Australia, the second country in the world to be authorized to carry out the fruit's cold treatment.
The facility will be allowed to carry out these cold treatments at origin mainly for cherries, but also for any other authorized fruit. This opens up a wide range of business opportunities for the sector, as it increases the chances of being able to export high quality fresh fruit and ship it by air after cold treatment at origin, instead of in transit.
Grape and pear market
In November 2018, the Ministry achieved the opening of the Chinese and Vietnamese markets for Spanish table grapes, so the reopening of Thailand entails further consolidation of exports in the region and the mutual strengthening of these markets.
Spain is the ninth largest pear producer in the world and the fourth largest in the European Union. The storage conditions make it possible for the fruit to be marketed all year round.