กรุงเทพฯ--27 พ.ย.--Chomchaviwan
National Village and Urban Community Fund Office launched Thai Longan, the marketing co-operation with Republic of India, aims to promote international trade between its partner country. The collaboration will help Thailand gain more markets for exporting longan to India. Mr. Worawat Aueapinyakul, the minister of Ministry of Science and Technology was the president of the event with collaboration from the ambassador of the Republic of India to the Kingdom of Thailand, H.E. Mr. Anil Wadhwa and management team from Modern Group company, Thai export firm, and Poorav Group company, Indian import agency. It is expected that exporting longan to India will reach at least 10,000 tons per year equivalent to more than 1.5 Billion Baht per year. This is another key strategy for expanding markets for Thai longan and solving problem of decreased value of Thai longan in the long run.
Mr. Worawat Aueapinyakul, minister of Ministry of Science and Technology mentioned that Thailand was recognized as a country abundant with variety of fruits throughout the year. Particularly, longan was an economic fruit that was in demand for both domestic and international markets. The export value of last year reached 15 Billion Baht. The fruit is variety in terms of consumption including fresh, frozen, canned and dried longan. The North of Thailand including Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampoon, Payao and Nan were recognized as major areas for longan plantation yielding quality fruits. However, there are some longan plantation found in Lampang, Mae Hongsorn and Prea. The longan in northern areas would yield its fruits later than other areas which was during August and September.
“Even though longan is a preferred fruit for many people, its selling price has often been decreased. This is the reason for “Thai logan in Global market” project which is the collaboration between the government and National Village and Urban Community Fund Office since last August. The project aims to promote distribution of longan in the country and globally export. The approach will help distribution of quality longan to Thai people across the nation. In addition, the farmers can distribute their products while the income is increased and quality of longan is improved. The initiative will also solve problem of decreased price of longan for the long run. After launching the project in August, it has been found that many countries show their interest in Thai longan, particularly India where its population prefers consuming longan,” said by Mr.Worawat.
Previously, China is Thailand’s number 1 market for exporting Thai longan which is equivalent to 13.5 Billion Baht annually. However, India is a potential market since the country is the second country with the most population. Consequently, demand for consumption of both fresh and dried longan has been constantly increasing. It is found that, at present, longan consumption is very preferred in India. The selling price reaches 400 Baht per kilogram as a result. As for the initial exporting goal, it is expected that longan exporting to India in 2013 will be 10,000 tons per year. After the market expansion plan, the export value will increase more than 10%
In addition, Thai government, National Village and Urban Community Fund Office and Indian government have established the long-term plan for promoting consumption of Thai longan andother fruits in India. The ambassador of the Republic of India to the Kingdom of Thailand, H.E. Mr. Anil Wadhwa, talked about collaboration in promoting consumption of longan in India, “Indian government is greatly willing to collaborate in promoting Thai longan in India. The road show for promoting longan and other fruits in India is planned. Longan has been in increasing demands. The event will provide knowledge about longan including its history, benefits and cooking recipes to Indian press and public. This is aimed for encouraging more consumption of longan”.
In addition to market expansion for exporting Thai longan, Mr.Worawat also added that the government highlighted the importance of quality and effective export. The product must not be contaminated with chemical substances. By this, Thailand would become a hub for exporting quality longan to both domestic and global markets. Recently, the government has innovated in satellite project for quality audit of longan orchard which was another important approach to assure Thai’s agricultural products in the world’s market.