Plans for Thailand to become tropical fruit centre

BANGOK, Feb 5 (TNA) -- The Ministry of Commerce has plans to have the cabinet approve a plan to setup Thailand as the central hub for global tropical fruit trade. Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said that the ministry is finalising a national strategic fruit plan for the cabinet to approve on Tuesday whereby Thailand will be established as the global centre for tropical fruit trade. The plan involves developing the country's premium fruits such as durian to increase its value as well as formulating new market plans for new products manufactured from its secondary fruits such as mangosteen and longan. One such product is vacuum fried longan. Besides this improved packaging methods and distribution channels will be created to help develop small operator latency. Mr Sonthirat revealed that prices for Thailand's leading fruits such as durian and mangosteen has risen by 20% this year. This is due mainly to a 25-30% reduction in production as a result of inclement weather conditions this year. Overall, expectation are that durian and mangosteen will not flood the market as in previous years because of the rise in demand from China and other markets. This has also been helped along by longer shelf-life due to better quality controls and innovative conversions of Thai fruits. In another development, the Ministry of Commerce also plans to push Chantaburi province to become the centre for gem trade. This follows the government's recent move to reduce tariffs on gem imports to help support tourism. Furthermore, Thailand's availability of extremely skilled artisans makes the ministry's vision a real possibility. (TNA)