The Commerce Ministry organized a business matching event and signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between Thai exporters and international buyers. These initiatives are expected to boost export sales by approximately $97 million.
Deputy Commerce Minister Napintorn Srisunpang stated that 96 Thai fruit export companies participated alongside 65 importers, buyers, and distributors from 19 regions, including China, Europe, the US, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, South Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
Business matching activities occurred both online and onsite, resulting in over 500 scheduled meetings. Mr. Napintorn noted that trade negotiations could lead to order placements exceeding $42 million. Popular products included durian, longan, mangosteen, coconut, and various processed fruit items.
Eight MoUs were signed between Thai exporters and trade partners from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia, collectively expected to generate more than $55 million in fresh fruit sales.
Other features included the introduction of a character to promote Thai fruit identity, exhibitions of various fruit and agricultural products, and cooking demonstrations. Mr. Napintorn mentioned that the goal was to enhance the market share of Thai fruit exports globally, improve trade competitiveness, and introduce fresh and processed fruit to the international market ahead of the upcoming harvest season.
Thailand anticipates exporting over 4 million tons of fresh and processed fruit in 2024, with a total value projected to exceed $8.3 billion, reflecting a 2% year-on-year increase.
The Department of International Trade Promotion plans over 30 projects to promote Thai fruit products in overseas markets, including sales promotions in international malls and trade negotiations at global trade fairs.
According to the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, Thailand exported $28.8 billion worth of agricultural products in 2024, a 7.5% year-on-year increase, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth.
Fresh, chilled, frozen, and dried fruit ranked as the top export product with a value of $6.51 billion, accounting for 22.6% of total agricultural export value, followed by rice, rubber, chicken, and cassava products.
Source: Bangkok Post