The Commerce Ministry held a business matching event for fruit and agricultural products as well as a signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between Thai exporters and foreign buyers on Wednesday.
These activities are projected to increase export sales by 3.5 billion baht.
Deputy Commerce Minister Napintorn Srisunpang said 96 Thai fruit export companies participated, as well as 65 importers, buyers and distributors from 19 countries and regions including China, Europe, the US, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, South Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
The business matching activities took place both online and onsite, resulting in over 500 scheduled appointments.
Mr Napintorn said these trade negotiations could lead to order placements exceeding 1.5 billion baht. The most sought-after products included durian, longan, mangosteen, coconut, and various processed fruit items.
Eight MoUs were signed between Thai exporters and trade partners from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia, collectively expected to yield more than 2 billion baht in sales of fresh fruit.
Other highlights included the launch of a character to promote the identity of Thai fruit, exhibitions showcasing various fruit and agricultural products, and cooking demonstrations.
Mr Napintorn said the goal of the events was to enhance the market share of Thai fruit exports globally, improve trade competitiveness, and introduce fresh and processed fruit, as well as other agricultural products, to the international market ahead of the upcoming harvest season.
This year, Thailand expects to export over 4 million tonnes of fresh and processed fruit to international markets, with a total value projected to surpass 300 billion baht, marking a 2% year-on-year increase.
The Department of International Trade Promotion plans to organise more than 30 projects to promote Thai fruit products in overseas markets, including sales promotions in international malls and trade negotiations at global trade fairs.
According to the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, Thailand exported US$28.8 billion (1.01 trillion baht) of agricultural products in 2024, a 7.5% year-on-year increase and the fourth consecutive year of growth.
Fresh, chilled, frozen and dried fruit ranked as the top export product with a value of $6.51 billion, accounting for 22.6% of total agricultural export value, followed by rice at $6.44 billion, rubber at $4.99 billion, chicken at $4.31 billion, and cassava products at $3.13 billion.