BANGKOK: Thailand’s fruit growers are the latest to be hit by China’s zero-Covid policy, as their sales to the world’s second-largest economy slump in response to tougher import inspections.
China has become increasingly jittery about importing the coronavirus, causing ripples around the world. And with government lockdowns of large cities continuing, the impact is expected to grow.
On April 26, China temporarily closed the Mohan checkpoint in Yunnan Province, on the border with Laos, after it found the virus in durian containers from Thailand. It was the second time in April that China announced a border closure after the virus was discovered in fruit containers from Thailand.
The shutdown caused the highly perishable durian to rot, resulting in massive losses for Thai durian growers and pushed down prices for the fruit in the glutted domestic market.
“Farmers are dying and we need urgent help from the government, as weak purchasing at home caused by Covid cannot help absorb the oversupply,” said durian grower Somchai Choonual.
Another factor weighing on the price is rising output. Thailand is forecast to produce 1.4 million tonnes of durian this year, up 17% from the previous year, as strong demand from China over the past several years encouraged farmers to grow more.
Prices for Thai durian have fallen to around 100 baht, or US$2.90 per kilogramme, down from 150 to 200 baht a year ago, and they are expected to decline further if China maintains its stringent inspections of Thai fruit.
Commerce minister Jurin Laksanawisit said the government is negotiating with its Chinese counterparts to resume trade at the Mohan checkpoint, and is rushing to facilitate durian exports through the major ports of Bangkok and Laem Chabang in the eastern city of Chonburi to expedite shipments of durian to China, the biggest buyer of the fruit. China typically purchases around 50% of Thailand’s annual durian production.
But the measures are “unlikely to help, because it takes up to five days for Thai durians to enter China due to the thorough checks under the zero-Covid policy,” said an official with the Thai Durian Association.
The official added that slower-than-expected Covid checks are causing spoilage, with rotten fruit sent back to Thailand.
Mangoes, another fruit that Thailand grows a lot of, are also getting hung up in China’s ports due to the Covid inspections. As a result, millions of tonnes of mangoes are piling up in Thailand, with prices falling as low as 2 baht per kg, compared with a price 30 to 70 baht at this time last year.
The commerce ministry has stepped in, buying up to 14,000kg of mangoes directly from farmers and distributing them in schools in hopes of pushing prices higher. But the move has not helped much because the purchases are a tiny fraction of Thailand’s total production of 1.4 million tonnes this year.
But mango growers gained an unlikely savior in the form of teenage Thai rapper Milli. After performing her song “Mirror Mirror” at California’s Coachella music festival earlier this month, Milli remained on stage to chow down on a bowl of mango and sticky rice, causing a sensation back home.
The next day, demand for mangoes shot up. The 19-year-old’s performance, and her partaking of the famous Thai dessert on stage, made the hashtag #MILLILiveatCoachella the No. 1 topic on Twitter, with 1.39 million tweets.
We admire her because her show saved us,” said Manop Kaewwongnukul, a mango grower in Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok. “We also plan to send her a gift basket of mangoes.”
“We have a lot of mango orders from the US, as several Thai restaurants want to add mango sticky rice to their menus,” said Sompong Sawangmanee a mango trader in the northern city of Pichit.
The “Milli effect” surprised the Thai government and is inspiring it to pay more attention to the country’s “soft power,” as they try to use it to promote other Thai products.
Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit, the director-general of the country’s Department of International Trade Promotion said the commerce ministry has been promoting Thai products via soft power for several years, and that the Milli effect has encouraged the department to do more.
He said the Ministry has supported 659 companies, creating around 941 million baht in trade. That amounts to around a quarter of the 3.6 billion baht target for trade generated by soft power this year.