The Asian tiger, Thailand, has exported more than one million tons of fruit worth 92 billion THB (about 2.5 billion USD) to China in the first half of this year, according to Thai government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.

The Thai government by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said that Thailand aimed to increase exports in various sectors and set a policy to support fruit sales abroad.

From January to June, Thai exports rose 12.7 percent from 2021 to more than US$149 billion, exceeding the initial target of 4 percent to 5 percent for the whole year, the spokesman said on July 29, citing information from the Thai Ministry of Commerce.

He said that exports of agricultural and agro-industrial products contributed substantially to the growth of exports worth more than 26.5 billion USD last month. Citing information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Wangboonkongchana said that between February 1 and July 21, there were 64,903 fresh fruit shipments to China, totalling 1.16 million tons and worth more than THB 92 billion (about USD 2.5 billion).

This included the export of more than 670,000 tons of durian worth THB 72 billion (about USD 2 billion), reflecting Chinese consumers’ confidence in Thai fruit’s quality and taste. Besides durian, other fruits exported to China include coconut, mangosteen, longan, rambutan and pomelo, the spokesman said.