The Thai Commerce Ministry is upbeat about fruit export prospects, predicting outbound shipments to grow by 15% this year while pledging to speed up tackling existing export obstacles and promoting sales via advance contracts.

Speaking after a joint meeting with responsible officials, fruit traders, farmers, wholesalers and retailers, as well as logistics providers, online platforms and financial institutions, Commerce Minister of Thailand, Jurin Laksana­wisit said the ministry has set a target to fetch 287.50 billion baht worth of fruit exports including fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits.

Of the total, 180 billion baht is expected to stem from China, up 65% from a year before.

Mr Jurin attributed the lofty export target mainly to higher demand for Thai fruits and higher production in the 2022 harvest season.

To boost fruit exports the ministry has already succeeded in promoting fruit sales via advance contracts covering up to 450,000 tonnes -- mainly with Chinese buyers, said Mr Jurin.