In the initial half of this year, Thailand’s thriving fruit exports industry experienced extensive growth, thanks largely in part to the benefits of the free trade agreement (FTA) for exporters. It was particularly visible in the increased amount of shipments directed towards China, demonstrating a heightened demand within China’s booming market. Among these shipments, delectables such as durian, guava, mango, and mangosteen took center stage, revealing these as the most sought after fruits during the warmer seasons according to the insightful observations by the Foreign Trade Department’s Director-General, Ronnarong Phoolpipat.
With these trends backed by the supportive framework of the ASEAN-China FTA, the monetary value of Thai fruit exports saw an astronomical rise to over US$3.3 billion in the first five months alone. Compared to the same period last year, this represented a remarkable growth of 14.2%. Furthermore, not limiting to fruits exclusively, goods derived from coconuts, including the shells, saw immense popularity among Chinese consumers.
Ronnarong illustrated how Thailand strategically capitalized on the Asean-China FTA advantages to market and export coconut-focused products, such as shells, into China. This clever move resulted in a wealthy return of US$188 million, marking an impressive growth of 27% year-over-year for the Thai fruit sector.
As the major importer of Thai coconuts, China held 54.8% of the total import volume along with an intimidating 80% market share in terms of import value for all Thai coconut-related commodities. As highlighted by Ronnarong, the benefits from the free trade agreement successfully reduced the hefty import tariffs in China, which was initially an overwhelming 60% rate as per the most favoured nation standard.
The department has pointed out that the exploitation of FTA benefits mounted to a striking worth of US$33.5 billion within the first five months of this year. Despite, unfortunately witnessing a minor drop of 2.76% yearly, the utilization rate of FTA benefits still reached a capturing 76.7% for all commodities. With Thailand having built 14 FTAs in collaboration with 18 countries, including the RCEP, the exploitation of FTA remained strong despite exclusions such as the Thailand-New Zealand FTA, which demands self-declarations as proof of origin.
Forecasts for this year’s exports of fresh Thai fruit to China see the quantity reaching 2.5 million tonnes, which translates to a handsome US$5.59 billion. Last year, the introduction of strict COVID-19 control measures threw a wrench in transportation mechanisms, particularly across land borders, urging a more significant reliance on sea transport. Despite these hurdles, Thai fruit exports to China culminated to 2.25 million tonnes last year, which meant a slight yet promising increase of 2.7% from the year before that, amounting to a commendable US$5.04 billion.
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