By Thai Newsroom Reporters
AN EXPORT MARKET SHARE for Thai durian in China has sharply plummeted in the face of fierce competition with Vietnamese durian, an official said over the weekend.
The Thai durian has secured a 70% market share in China where the Vietnamese durian has grabbed a 30% market share during the first 10 months this year.
That compared to a 95% market share for the Thai durian and a 5% market share for the Vietnamese durian in the Chinese market throughout last year, according to the government official.
Primarily attributed to the rapidly increasing volume of the Vietnamese durian in the Chinese market was its logistical cost which was considerably lower than that of the Thai durian, given a relatively short distance.
A difference in taste or quality of the fruit from the two exporting rivals appeared to be a secondary point of consideration by Chinese consumers after the price factor, the official said.
Nevertheless, Philippine and Malaysian durian has begun to penetrate the Chinese market since earlier this year.
Thailand has exported 1.74 million tonnes of various fruits to world markets during this year’s first 10 months accounting for a 12% increase from the same period of last year.
The major fruits exported between January and October included 965,284 tonnes of durian worth about 136 billion baht, 274,064 tonnes of longan worth about 10 billion baht, 245,049 tons of mangosteen worth about 16 billion baht and 104,154 tonnes of mango worth about three billion baht.
China has been the largest export market for the Thai fruits with a combined 158 billion baht in sales and accounting for 91% of the overall market share, followed by Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and South Korea respectively.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Delicious Thai durian. Photo: Sanook.com
Front Page: Thai Mon Thong (Golden Pillow) durian for sale at a local market. Photo: Kent Wang (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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