New Shipping Route Laem Chabang–Yantian Launched to Speed Thai Durian Exports to China, Cutting Costs by 2026

The Trade Promotion Office in Guangzhou, together with Team Thailand, has launched a direct shipping route connecting Laem Chabang to Yantian Port in Shenzhen. This upgrade to cold chain logistics aims to efficiently and swiftly channel durian, mangosteen, and longan into inland China and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) markets.

Enhancing seamless logistics connectivity between Thailand and China.

The Trade Promotion Office in Guangzhou, along with Team Thailand, officially inaugurated the shipping route between Laem Chabang Port (Thailand) and Yantian Port in Shenzhen. This event, part of the APEC 2026 celebrations, supports the export of Thai agricultural products, with the route details as follows:

• Southbound route: From Yantian (Shenzhen) to Laem Chabang (Thailand) takes only 6 days.
• Northbound route: From Laem Chabang (Thailand), via Sihanoukville (Cambodia), to Yantian (Shenzhen) takes only 5 days.

Highlights of "Yantian Port" – a new gateway for Thai fruits.

Yantian Port is not only a world-class container port handling over 16 million TEU in 2025, but also strategically important for Thai operators due to the following:

1. Multimodal Transport Hub: Connecting sea, rail, and road transport, enabling rapid distribution of Thai durian to major economic cities in China such as Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming, Wuhan, and Changsha.
2. Cold Chain Logistics: Equipped with high-performance reefer containers ideal for preserving the quality of fresh fruits.
3. High-standard Import Customs: Overseen by Taiping Customs (Shenzhen Customs), featuring strict food safety inspections including tests for residues and heavy metals, ensuring premium product standards.

Golden Opportunity for "Thai Durian" in the GBA Market.

This route represents a "strategic opportunity" for Thai fruit exporters (durian, mangosteen, longan) because:

• It reduces congestion by providing an alternative to Nansha and Shekou ports and alleviates heavy land border traffic.
• It grants access to a high purchasing power market: Yantian Port is located within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), one of China’s top regions for high-quality agricultural product demand.
• It cuts costs and transit time, keeping Thai fruits fresher on arrival and lowering loss rates during transport.

Recommendations for operators: Emphasize quality control to meet Chinese standards, especially screening for contaminants like Basic Yellow 2 (BY2), and plan shipments early during fruit seasons to gain a sustainable market advantage in China.

The Laem Chabang–Yantian shipping route is a key to faster delivery of Thai durian and other fresh fruits to the heart of China, strengthening Thailand’s agricultural supply chain under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework with tangible results.