Thai mangosteen

Thailand's fresh fruit exports climbed over 17 per cent in value during 2018, according to the country's director general of the Trade Negotiations Department.

Auramon Supthaweethum told The Nation that the country exported US$2.65bn of fruits last year, mainly driven by Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

Contributing FTAs included those with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Chile and Hong Kong.

Supthaweethum said that the Asean and Chinese markets were the largest for Thailand's fruit exports, accounting for US$2.13bn, or 80 per cent of total fruit shipments.

The leading fruits exported by Thailand were durian, longan and mangosteen, The Nation reported.