Let's start by peeling back the numbers: Thailand shipped between 329 million and 470 million baht worth of fresh bananas annually over the past five years, with 2017’s figure amounting to 467.42 million baht, up 41.8% year-on-year.
In the first four months of this year, banana exports fetched 185.32 million baht, a rise of 27.9% year-on-year, according to Commerce Ministry statistics.
Key markets include China, Japan and Hong Kong, accounting for 97.8% of banana exports.
It may come as a surprise that the lion's share of those shipments stem from farming cooperatives based in Phetchaburi province.
From humble origins in 1940, Ban Lat Agricultural Cooperatives Ltd now counts 32 cooperatives with more than 9,000 associated members in Ban Lat district of Phetchaburi. The area serves as a perfect production base for the Cavendish banana, a fragrant cultivar with a thin peel and a good taste.
According to Sirichai Channak, manager of Ban Lat Agricultural Cooperatives in partnership with fruit exporter Pan Pacific Foods Corporation, shipments began in 1996 with six tonnes in the first lot.
In 2000, Pal System Cooperative Union, a Japanese consumer union, contacted the cooperatives and began buying bananas at an average of eight tonnes a week.
Some of the cooperatives’ bananas are packed and ready for shipment throughout the region.
The cooperatives have been registered as a limited company since Aug 1, 1975. The firm has total assets worth 1.3 billion baht and runs businesses that include loans and deposits for members, sales of agricultural and construction materials, processing of agricultural products, central market services, and banana exports.
The cooperatives under the firm have a combined production of 1,000 tonnes of fresh bananas a year. Half the production is typically slated for export, with most of it bound for Japan.
Banana exports from the company over the past two years fell to 300 tonnes a year with a value of 30 million baht, due to higher domestic demand and a lower number of growers because of flooding.
“The cooperatives this year are encouraging farmers to grow more bananas, as we aim to increase exports to 50% of total production next year in a bid to raise income for farmers,” Mr Sirichai said, adding that exports fetch farmers up to 12 baht a kg, compared with two baht per banana at home.
The cooperatives have also developed an app for banana cultivation, teaching farmers how to grow bananas to meet Japan's quality standards. At present there are 160 qualified farmers with a combined 600 rai of farmland registered with the cooperatives to supply bananas to Japan.
According to Mr Sirichai, the cooperatives have applied to the Commerce Ministry for geographical indication (GI) for bananas grown in Phetchaburi. If the GI certificate is awarded, it will help raise banana prices and farmer income.
Sirichai Channak is manager of Ban Lat Agricultural Cooperatives, a key producer of bananas in Thailand.
A GI is a distinctive label used to identify a product as coming from the territory of a country, region or locality, particularly when its quality, reputation or other characteristics are linked to its place of origin. GI certification reflects the unique characteristics and quality of the product, boosting its market value.
The GI system also protects a product by certifying that its characteristics cannot be replicated elsewhere. The aim is to keep competitors from using the area’s name or misleading the public about a product’s origin.
Champagne, named after the region in France where sparkling wine is made, is the most famous example of a GI-protected product.
According to Mr Sirichai, the cooperatives are expanding their banana production area into Tha Maka and Tha Muang districts in Kanchanaburi to help supply the domestic market.
A vital component of the cooperatives’ achievement is the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s sufficiency economy principles, particularly relating to soil and water supply and development of multiple crops.
The cooperatives have also asked for support from Silpakorn and Kasetsart universities on R&D to add value to banana products and raise the yield of banana trees.
Most importantly, the cooperatives run their own central market, providing a venue for farmers to sell their products directly to end-consumers without going through a middleman, thus staving off price cuts.
The central market makes available farm products from associated members, as well as construction materials and agriculture-related tools, at relatively low prices.
Suriya Chuwong, aka Uncle Noi, a 61-year-old farmer and member of the cooperatives, has applied the late King’s sufficiency economy principles and mixed farming theory since he was 26. He has grown bananas, limes, rose apples, sapodillas and sugar palms. He earns about 500,000 baht a year.
The distinctive features of Uncle Noi’s mixed farming are the use of natural extracts (instead of chemicals), sufficient wells and systematic land division. Furthermore, he applies knowledge from other disciplines and technology in the production and management of the farm.
For instance, Uncle Noi introduced steel ladders instead of wooden ones to climb sugar palm trees. He manages the finances using home accounting. He does marketing research, investigating demand and prices for fruits and vegetables at different times, in order to make monthly growing plans that will best respond to the market.
Uncle Noi’s farm has been awarded Good Agricultural Practice Certification by the Agriculture Department. He has also received a number of national awards, such as the 2015 Model Farmer for Sufficiency Economy given by the National Farmer Council and the 2016 Best Farmer Award for Farm Accounting given by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.
Uncle Noi’s orchard has become a learning centre for farmers nationwide.
“My orchards use no chemicals,” he said. “That not only helps reduce production costs, but is also safe for consumers. I’m willing to disclose all pieces of knowledge I have to all Thai people who want to learn the late King’s sufficiency economy.”