Government assists fruit orchards in Thai South

BANGKOK, July 2 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, is looking for more markets for fruit growers in the country's southern region, as their produce this year is higher than last year. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Kritsada Boonrat told journalists of the policy on Monday, noting that he has instructed relevant agencies to closely monitor updates regarding this year's fresh fruit produce of the southern Thai orchards, covering helping find more markets for them. Kritsada said his order was in response to a recent report released by his ministry's Office of Agricultural Economics that the total produce of fresh fruits this year in seven southern Thai provinces of Songkhla, Phattalung, Trang, Satun, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat is likely to higher than last year, including rambutan, mangosteen, durian and southern langsat. According to the minister, the new produce of mangosteen and durian in the Thai South will begin to come out this month and will peak next month, while the new produce of rambutan and southern langsat will begin to come out next month and will peak in September and a quickest move is, thus, needed to distribute the new fruit produce to local markets nationwide and to foreign markets in order to prevent a drop in the fresh fruit prices and to create income for the southern orchards. The minister stated, meanwhile, that his ministry's Fruit Board is working out the five year-development strategy for the southern Thai fruits (2018-2021), under which a comprehensive management plan for fresh fruits in the Thai South will be tailored, covering the production, the marketing and the development of research projects and local growers of fresh fruits. "Once the five-year strategy is completed, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives will forward it to the Thai Cabinet for further consideration and a decision", the minister revealed. (TNA)