Thailand plans to invest nearly fifty million baht in improving the quality of five popular Thai fruits, according to the country’s government agricultural officials.

Efforts to boost the quality of fruit are aimed at both export and domestic consumption.

Under the scheme, a significant area of land across 10 Thai provinces will be used to pilot new varieties of pomelos, oranges, lemons, mangoes and coconuts, the director of the Horticultural Research Institute, Pairoj Suwanchind, said this week.

The department of agriculture’s plan is partly in response to an increase in fruit and vegetable imports from China, especially apples and pears, since the Sino-Thai Free Trade Agreement came into force earlier this year.

This has had a dramatic impact on the domestic price and supply of fruit and vegetables in Thailand. As a result, these five cash crops have been selected to supply domestic demand all year round as an import substitute.

Government officials hope the fruit produced can also be of additional value to the country’s exporters.

The pilot project will be conducted in Samutsakon, Lampang, Prae, Pichit, Sisaket, Khon Kaen, Sukhothai, Nan, Chumpon and Bangkok.

Agricultural officials will encourage farmers to regenerate plantations where the soil has been damaged by plant disease and the regular use of pesticides.

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