Thailand eyes to export more fruits to China

BANGKOK, September 3 (TNA) - Thailand expects to export more fruits to China, worth almost 150 US dollars this year alone, thanks to their premium quality and high safety standards. Sookchai Chariengprasert, Director of the Agricultural Development and Promotion Office, Zone 6 in the northern resort Chiang Mai Province, under the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, told reporters of the plan on Tuesday, after returning from China to attend the 10th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning City. Sookchai acknowledged that Thailand adopts tight quality control measures in all processes, from orchards to consumers, both on the domestic and overseas markets. Sookchai elaborated that local fruit growers have been told to apply proper chemical use and Thai fruits are required to pass quality checks by government agencies concerned before their shipments to overseas markets to ensure no health-threatening chemical residue. Sookchai insisted that only Thai fruits which meet the globally-recognized Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) can be exported. According to the senior Thai official, he also surveyed the Chinese market to explore more rooms for Thai fruit exports to the immense Chinese economy during his visit to Nanning and found that Thailand's longan, durian, lychee and pomeloes are in high demand in the Chinese market, where local consumers like Thai fruits for their good tastes and premium quality. The 10th China-ASEAN Expo runs from September 3-6 in Nanning, China's southern region, in a bid to bolster trade and investment between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Thailand is a member country. (TNA)