Fruit production in the southern region has expanded by nearly six per cent over the last year, with durian output seeing the most growth at 22 per cent, the Office of Agricultural Economics reported. Deputy secretary- general Unchana Tracho stated: “The survey of 14 southern provinces in the first half of 2020 reveals that the region has produced 844,003 tonnes of economic fruit, a 5.93 per cent increase from last year’s output of 796,751 tonnes. The farming area also increased from last year.”Unchana added that durian showed the most increase in output at 588,337 tonnes, a 22.03 per cent increase year on year, but some fruits saw decreasing output such as rambutan at 50,280 tonnes (down 29.52 per cent year on year), longkong at 52,178 tonnes (down 27.99 per cent) and mangosteen at 153,208 tonnes (down 10.3 per cent). “The reason behind the big jump in durian output is the market price has been increasing, which attracts more farmers to grow the fruit, while other fruits have suffered from lower growing areas and the drought, ” she added. “Currently we have demand from several sources besides local fruit markets including domestic fruit dealers, community enterprises, modern trade, and Thailand Post, which helps sell and deliver fruit to customers in other provinces.”Source: thestar.com.my

Source: thestar July 10, 2020 11:37 UTC