More than 500 unripe durians weighing over 1 ton were found at a fruit packing center in Chanthaburi province during export preparations. Officials ordered the removal and marking of the unripe durians to prevent their sale, along with strict measures to prevent recurrence.
On 4 May 2026, Rear Admiral Rathsak Rakchuen, Director of Coordination Center 2 (Spor Mon 2) at the Office of Maritime Security and Deputy Director of Internal Security Operations Command, Chanthaburi Province, revealed that officers were assigned to work jointly with the Agricultural Research and Development Office Region 6 in Chanthaburi and the Department of Standards Control at the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards. They inspected durian packing and export sites (known as 'longs') in Chanthaburi to monitor and prevent the export of low-quality or unripe durians, as well as durians damaged by recent seasonal storms, which could harm the reputation of Thai fruit abroad.
The inspection covered two durian packing and export sites in Thung Bencha Subdistrict, Tha Mai District, and one site in Saelang Subdistrict, Mueang Chanthaburi District. At the Saelang location, many Monthong durians were already packed in boxes, awaiting loading onto trucks.
Upon inspection, it was found that the dry weight of the durian flesh did not meet the Monthong standard (32%). Authorities ordered the unpacking and inspection of all 350 boxes, totaling approximately 7 tons. The operators were instructed to separate 529 substandard (unripe) durians, weighing about 1.5 tons, and mark them with paint to prevent mixing with standard-quality durians.
A first warning was issued to the operators to maintain quality control according to standards. If unripe durians are found again, it will be considered intentional violation, leading to license suspension (minimum 30 days up to 90 days) and possible revocation. Additionally, officials emphasized that operators must check the ripeness of durians to prevent low-quality fruit from being exported and must strictly follow provincial and government agency regulations.