Suriyas orders strict control of Thai durian standards, highlighting the “Four No's” measures and enabling 24-hour export facilitation. He is confident in maintaining Thailand’s leading position in the Chinese market and pushing this year’s revenue beyond 150 billion baht.
Suriyas Junrungreangkit, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, revealed after visiting Chanthaburi Province to monitor export conditions and fruit quality control measures, that the government targets Thai durian exports this year to exceed 150 billion baht amid intensified global market competition, especially from regional competitors increasing their export volumes.
Suriyas assessed that “quality and trust” will be key factors in retaining customers in China, Thailand’s largest export market. Competition now goes beyond price to include food safety standards, traceability systems, and product reliability. Thai durian is thus a crucial economic driver, linking farmers’ incomes, exporters, logistics systems, and Thailand’s food image on the global stage.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand has exported over 28,500 shipments of fresh durian, totaling more than 460,000 tons and generating over 52.5 billion baht in value. These figures reflect strong demand in international markets.
However, the Ministry acknowledges risks that could undermine partner countries’ confidence, particularly issues of illegal harvesting of unripe durians, detection of pests, chemical residues, including Basic Yellow 2 (BY2). The Chinese market has significantly tightened import standards recently.
To address these challenges, Suriyas instructed the Department of Agriculture to intensify quality control measures under the “Four No's” policy, which includes:
1. No unripe durians
2. No worms
3. No mislabeling or false claims
4. No chemical residues
Additionally, processes have been improved to facilitate exporters by implementing a 24-hour export facilitation system, increasing staff at inspection points, accelerating integration of the e-Phyto and TAS-License systems to enhance traceability, reduce redundancy, and solve goods backlog at checkpoints. Laboratory testing for chemical residues has been upgraded to meet Chinese authorities’ recommendations.
Simultaneously, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives unveiled model “Quality Durian Gardens” focusing on reducing chemical fertilizers and agricultural chemicals by promoting the use of biofertilizers, bioproducts, and organic fertilizers. This aims to raise Thai fruit safety standards and respond to the global green market trend.
Rapeepat Jantrasrivong, Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, added that the department is accelerating development of a comprehensive fruit export management system, covering the sorting and packaging process, laboratories, and using digital systems to ensure Thai fruit exports meet higher standards, transparency, and faster operations.
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