Commerce officials inspect fruits

CHANTHABURI, May 5 (TNA) -- Senior Commerce Ministry officials, led by Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, are now visiting fruit plantations in the eastern province of Chanthaburi and talk to their owners to ensure that durians to be exported to China meet quality standards required by that country. The officials plan to spend two days, started Friday, in meeting with growers of tropical fruits, especially durian, consider as the king of Thai fruits, in preparation for exporting durians to Tmall.com, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group. On April 19, Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, signed MoUs with the Thai government. Durians are believed to be a favourite fruit among the Chinese. Thailand exported about 334,473 tonnes of fresh and frozen fruits and earned 13.4 billion baht during the first quarter this year. The officials also plan to discuss fruit production for 2019 with growers and exporters during the current visit. (TNA)