ASIA FOCUS
A women's group in Chanthaburi has been selected to supply durian chips to China during the world event, reports Walailak Keeratipipatpong
A small group of women in a remote village tucked away in the East of Thailand are busy preparing a fruit snack for thousands of participants expected to join the Beijing Olympic Games in the next four months.
Although they may not recognise it, they are setting a good example about how best to turn globalisation, which is taking firm root everywhere, to their advantage instead of resisting the inevitable trend.
The 68 housewives who formed the Women's Group of Ban Trok Nong Co-operative, located about 45 kilometres from downtown Chanthaburi, have never watched international sports or been to China. But the golden dried durian they make will be starring in Beijing soon.
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| Ban Trok Nong Co-operative members sort good-quality 80%-ripe mon thong and slice it into bite-sized pieces. The pieces are then fried and undergo a dry-heating process for at least four hours to drain excessive oil. The chips can then be sold for 300 baht per kilogramme. |
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Chinese Olympic organisers picked the snack to serve to athletes and spectators during the month-long 2008 Olympic Games. The Chanthaburi group is the only Thai farm co-operative to cater to the world sports event.
"The only thing I know about the Olympics is the torch relay ceremony in Thailand which was broadcast on TV recently," said Banyen Manokij, head of the women's group in the village, where people earn their living growing many tropical fruits, including durian, rambutan and mangosteen.
It was the only farm co-operative selected by China's Agriculture Ministry, which also permitted 15 Thai fruit-processing companies to supply a variety of fresh and dried fruits for the Games.
Mrs Banyen said the group was formed in 2001 to seek additional income since the price of the premium durian variety, mon thong, had plunged sharply to only 20-30 baht per unit, down from 70-80 baht normally.
To their surprise, dried durian or durian chips generate an even higher and more steady income to them, as its selling price is as lofty as 300 baht a kilogramme.
Each year, the group's members, who range from 25 to over 60 years of age, help sort good-quality 80%-ripe mon thong and slice it into bite-sized pieces. The pieces are then fried and undergo a dry-heating process for at least four hours to eliminate excessive oil.
More than 20 tonnes of durian chips from Ban Trok Nang are sold every year and its fine quality has secured it a place on the list of Otop (One Tambon, One Product) goods from Chanthaburi for many years.
Thanks to support from distributors at the famous Bangkok weekend market Or Tor Kor or the Marketing Organisation for Farmers Market, the group joined a contest last year to supply fresh and processed fruit for the Beijing Games.
It won, together with 15 other fruit processors from the private sector.
Together, they will offer eight types of fruit: banana, coconut, durian, longan, mango, mangosteen, pomelo and pineapple, which will come in 29 varieties, from crispy to syrupy offerings, for organisers and spectators to savour during the Games, which start on Aug 8.
Besides helping Beijing find good suppliers, the Thai government also has plans to launch fairs in China's capital, as well as Shanghai and the tourist destination Xian to allow more Chinese people to taste Thai fruit, according to Pinit Korsieporn, deputy permanent secretary for agriculture.
Through the "Thai Team", which comprises several government agencies, selected Thai fruits would be displayed at eight outlets of Lotus supercentres in Beijing, while the Agriculture Ministry will also give free samples of the crispy fruit to shoppers at the Super Brand Mall in Shanghai from Aug 1-3.
All in all, the ministry plans to ship about 10,000 tonnes of fruit during the event, Mr Pinit said.
The Olympics will be a golden opportunity for Thailand to broaden its fruit and farm product market in the mainland.
"Our fruit exhibition will be held in Xian, which actually will not host any sports contests but is a popular attraction among Chinese," he said.
Mr Pinit is confident the campaign will acquaint the Chinese with more types of Thai fruit, other than durian and mangosteen, the King and Queen of fruit from Thailand, which have already gained wide acceptance among the people there.
Strong demand from China and Hong Kong is expected to push Thai fruit export revenue up by 10% this year to an estimated US$6.42 million. Shipments to these two destinations have grown strongly by 72% and 30% respectively over the same period last year.
Based on figures of the Agriculture Ministry, fruit production this year is forecast to increase slightly to 2.6 million tonnes. The volume includes 746,600 tonnes of durian, 495,700 tonnes of rambutan, and 311,330 tonnes of mangosteen.
The ministry believes a larger supply will have only a minimal effect on prices. It plans to spend 500 million baht to manage distribution more efficiently and to finance farm co-operatives and local communities to gather their produce quickly during harvesting periods.
Part of the fund will be used to expedite exports to new markets, especially neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, as well as to supply to China during the Olympic Games.
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