It is now the season when a large number of durians are on the market in eastern Thailand, and the signature Qingniwang durian directly harvested by Baiguo Yuan is also ushering in the hot season.
From April 22nd to 23rd, Hundred Fruit Farm and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand held an exclusive signature fruit launch conference in Bangkok to jointly promote the export of high-quality Thai fruits mainly durian to China. During the event, Baiguoyuan invited several industry experts to participate in the durian tasting meeting, and went deep into the orchards and packaging factories of Baiguoyuan's signature Qingniwang durian cooperation to visit and taste to understand the whole process of durian planting, picking, selection, packaging, quarantine, transportation and so on. During this period, Baiguo Yuan also held a direct hair ceremony for the origin of its signature Qingniwang durian in Thailand.
Thailand is the country that exports the most fruits to China, and currently has as many as 22 kinds of fruits that can be exported to China. Zhou Weihong, Agricultural Consul of the Agricultural Department of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Thailand in Guangzhou, said that in 2023, the total amount of fresh durian exported from Thailand to China will be 953,800 tons, a year-on-year increase of 20.4%, accounting for 40.5% of the total Thai fruits exported to the Chinese market and 96.2% of the total durian exports. At present, Thailand's durian export volume and export value continue to refresh the peak, and has become the fruit with the largest export volume and export value in Thailand, and China is also the largest market for Thai durian exports.
It is reported that in Baiguoyuan, there are as many as 8 types of signature durians made in Thailand, including "Top Pomegranate" signature Qingni King durian, "Little Xiangfeng" signature Tulip Durian, "Little Musang King" signature Golden Waist Durian, the signature Golden Waist King durian favored by the Thai royal family, and the signature tree ripe golden pillow durian. Among them, the signature Qingniwang durian is an ancient durian variety in Thailand, Chanee, produced in Chanthaburi, the core durian production area in eastern Thailand, and is marketed from April to May every year, with a rich flavor and a taste comparable to Musang King. As the star product of Baiguoyuan, it has set a record of selling 340 tons a day and has become the sales champion of Baiguoyuan's single-day durian category.
This star product was once less concerned by Thai fruit farmers due to low yield, short shelf life, and difficult management, and the planting area continued to shrink, and it was once in danger.
"In 2014, Baiguo Yuan took the lead in introducing the Qingni durian variety to the Chinese mainland market, and in 2019, it was built into the signature Qingniwang durian. Jingtair Siriphanich, a professor at Kasetsart University, said in the durian tasting session that he was very grateful to Baiguo Yuan for not following the trend in the category of Thai durian, only making a big hit single product Golden Pillow Durian or Musang King to cater to consumers, but calming down to dig deep into some small varieties in Thailand that are about to disappear but are very valuable, just like the signature Qingniwang durian created by Baiguo Garden. If there is no Hundred Fruit Farm to continue to promote this variety, it will eventually disappear and be lost in the long history of Thai durian. The significance and value of this commitment to promoting biodiversity conservation are far-reaching.
According to the relevant person in charge of Baiguoyuan, the signature Qingniwang durian created by Baiguoyuan is harvested from the fruit of more than 10-year-old trees, and it is harvested more than 100 days after flowering. The orchard visited in this event is a well-known durian plantation in Chanthaburi Province, with 40-year-old trees, and experts can observe the process of picking and transporting the trees up close. Durian pickers have high professional requirements, and multiple workers need to cooperate when picking, and a skilled worker needs 3-4 years of learning to master the picking skills, and the maturity of picking is controlled at 8-8.5 percent, requiring 4 whole bags to be full of flesh.
At the plantation, Mr. Pittawat Onthonglang, Director of Region 6 of the Agricultural Research and Development Office of Thailand, and Mrs. Phusanisa Thanee, Director of the Plant Quarantine Station of Chanthaburi Province, introduced the knowledge of durian planting, inspection and quarantine to the experts. In the packaging factory, the experienced master knocks on the fruit to listen to the sound and distinguish the ripeness, and then selects the durian with better fruit shape, full flesh and maturity standard, so as to be selected as the signature Qingniwang durian. After sterilization and air drying, the epidermal moisture is removed, and then packaged and packed, and then it can enter the transportation link.
For fruit cultivation and production in Thailand, orchard farmers pay more attention to production and harvesting, including pest control and fruit tree care, in order to ensure that the quality of the picked fruit meets the ripeness requirements and meets the standards of the signature fruit of Hundred Fruit Garden. At the same time, the fruit must come from an orchard that has obtained Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification, the fruit packing plant must obtain Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, and the orchard and fruit packing plant must be registered with the functional departments of both China and Thailand.
Zhou Weihong, Agricultural Consul of the Agricultural Department of the Royal Thai Consulate General in Guangzhou, said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand has been committed to promoting the production of high-quality products, improving the production standards of every link, and making Thai fruits exported to foreign countries high-quality and safe. Among them, there are policies to improve the quality of agricultural products, increase the value of agricultural products, establish agricultural product brands, and establish one district and one product. This coincides with the concept of directly sourcing high-quality fruits from the source, strictly controlling product quality, and creating signature fruits.
At present, Baiguoyuan has a procurement team of 300 people, cooperates with more than 800 fruit bases in 26 countries around the world, and directly picks nearly 1,000 kinds of good fruits. At the same time, with the support of Japan's BLOF planting technology system, a standard system has been established in the whole industry chain to buy fresh, safe and high-quality fruits only for consumers.
Summer is just around the corner, and from May 9 to 15, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand will join hands with Hundred Fruit Farm to hold the Thai Fruit Festival in China, during which consumers can buy high-quality Thai fruits at discounted prices.