Thailand is on course to become the world’s largest durian producer over the next five years. (Photo: bangkokpost.com)
Director of the Centre for International Trade Studies at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Aat Pisanwanich said that with 30 percent growth in durian-planting areas in the country in the past decade, durian production is predicted to rise by 83 percent during 2021-2025.
The average annual amount of durian produced in this period is tipped to be 2.02 million tonnes, compared to 1.11 million tonnes recorded last year, he added, stressing this will be the largest amount of durian production in the world.
At present, Thailand is second after Indonesia, which produces the world’s largest volume of 1.2 million tonnes of durian per year.
The quantity of durian production in Thailand rose by 6,000 tonnes per year between 2011 and 2016, he said.
Between 2017 and last year, the amount jumped by 140,000 tonnes per year, more than 20 times higher, Aat said.
Thailand's neighbours have also been expanding their durian-growing areas, he said, adding durian production in Malaysia has in recent years grown by 42 percent, while Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam have seen a 32 percent, 40 percent and 20 percent growth in durian production respectively.
As a result, Thailand is now projected to lose its durian export market share from about 80 percent last year to about 57 percent by 2025, said Aat.
The world's total volume of durian exports is predicted in the next five years to rise by 350,000 tonnes per year from only 130,000 tonnes per year as seen in the past decade.
Meanwhile, the world's durian exports are forecast to rise by 134.5 percent to 1.8 million tonnes by 2025, compared to a 48.3 percent rise in 2020, he said./.