Cooperative Promotion Department Implements 4 Measures to Handle 2026 Fruit Season, Boosts GI Products in Modern Trade

Cooperative Promotion Department of Thailand Prepares to handle Eastern Thailand's 2026 fruit harvest with four proactive measures, highlighting GAP standards and GI products, injecting over 10 million baht to support farmer cooperatives connecting to modern trade markets, while promoting "Chanri Durian from Koh Chang" into major stores and exporting to Vietnam.

Nirand Moolthida, Director-General of the Cooperative Promotion Department, revealed the management plan for Eastern Thailand's fruit including durian, rambutan, mangosteen, longkong, and santol, expected to enter the market gradually from mid-April 2026 onward. He assigned Narut Boonchai, Deputy Director-General of the Cooperative Promotion Department, to visit Chanthaburi and Trat provinces to establish systematic management foundations aimed at stabilizing prices and enhancing competitiveness for agricultural institutions.

Four measures outlined to handle Eastern Thailand fruit in 2026

To cope with the 2026 production volume, the Cooperative Promotion Department has set four key management measures as follows:

1. Quality production and product identity : Focus on encouraging cooperatives to produce GAP-certified fruit and promote development of Geographical Indication (GI) products to elevate them to premium items that add higher value than regular fruit.

2. Value-added processing : Support equipment and technology to convert lower-grade or surplus market fruit into processed products that have longer shelf life and greater value.

3. Support working capital : Approve low-interest loans from the Cooperative Development Fund (CDF) to improve cooperatives’ liquidity for directly purchasing products from members, reducing price pressure from middlemen.

4. Market mechanisms and networks : Coordinate with modern trade stores, exporters, and cooperative networks nationwide to distribute products as quickly as possible, alongside launching publicity campaigns to stimulate consumption.

Allocates over 10 million baht to support farmers

For 2026 support, the department received a budget from the Agricultural Assistance Fund totaling 10,575,000 baht, with clear allocation for management as follows:

• Marketing management budget (2.58 million baht): Subsidizes fruit transportation costs outside production areas (up to 2 baht per kilogram).
• Packaging support budget (5.3 million baht): Provides 208,500 fruit baskets.
• Activities and training budget: For organizing the "Fresh From Farm" event and training on Packing House standards to build confidence among foreign buyers.

Promoting "Chanri Durian from Koh Chang" GI product into stores and exporting to Vietnam

Thanapat Jaowinach, manager of the Trat Agricultural Business Promotion Cooperative Limited, stated that on 20 April 2026, the cooperative plans to sign a forward purchase contract for "Chanri Durian from Koh Chang", a renowned GI product of the province, with Tops Supermarket. Additionally, there are plans to export mangosteen and rambutan to Hanoi, Vietnam, accounting for as much as 90 percent of the share.

"Although this year’s production volume may lead to lower average prices than previous years, having GI products like Chanri Durian from Koh Chang and Monthong from Khao Banthat gives us bargaining power. Currently, we aim to collect 2,000–3,000 tons of produce. Furthermore, we have long-term plans to build a processing factory to produce canned 'Golden Rambutan from Trat' to sustainably address surplus production issues," Thanapat concluded.

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