Exporting Thai Fruits to China in the Covid-19 Era

Export Thai fruits

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, agricultural products are still in high demand in the market, especially fruit exports to China.

Since the beginning of 2021, Thailand has exported more than 532,262 tons of Thai fruits to China, with a total value of 34,453 million baht, with the largest export of durian at 193,778 tons, worth 23,585 million baht.

With strict control in monitoring Covid-19 infection to prevent it from spreading to fruits, as China has strict measures and strictly follows the guidelines to prevent contamination during packaging.

In the past, China has never detected any COVID-19 contamination problems in agricultural products from Thailand.

Fruit import data into China

• In 2020, China was the world’s second largest fruit importer.
• China imports US$12 billion worth of fruits from around the world (Thailand is the largest importer at 33.45%).
• China imports US$4 billion worth of fruits from Thailand
• The proportion of Thai fruit imports to China is ranked 1st as fresh durian, accounting for 48%, followed by fresh and dried mangosteen at 22%, fresh longan at 11%, coconut at 6%, and others.
• 22 types of Thai fruits that China allows to be imported are tamarind, custard apple, papaya, starfruit, guava, longan, rose apple, jackfruit, longkong, pineapple, sapodilla, banana, passion fruit, coconut, longan, durian, mango, lychee, mangosteen, green orange, orange and pomelo.

Conditions for exporting Thai fruits to China

• Free from Chinese controlled pests
• No pesticide and chemical residues exceeding Chinese standards
• Longan must have a residual sulfur dioxide content of no more than 50 milligrams/kilogram.
• Must be pesticide-free and packaged using appropriate methods under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
• A Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) must be accompanied at all times.
• The 10 types of fruits exported from Thailand must come from GAP-certified plantations and GMP-certified packing plants and be registered with the Thai Department of Agriculture and Chinese authorities before export.

With a high proportion of Thai fruit imported to China, it is necessary to be aware of quality maintenance and strictly comply with the conditions because this is an important “opportunity” for Thailand to have potential over competitors in the same region.

Source: Global Trade Atlas