A project to improve the quality of durian will be expanded to cover Pattani and Narathiwat as well as Yala in the far South, with a projected yield of 3,000 tonnes for export to China next year.
Governor of Yala province, Anuchit Trakulmututa, said the success of the project this year had attracted more durian farmers from Pattani and Narathiwat to join for their 2019 crop.
A total of 843 durian farmers from 12 districts of three provinces have now signed up for the project to upgrade quality which includes 24,216 durian trees.
The province projects that each durian tree can generate an average of 9,000 baht income per crop.
The project is an attempt to improve the quality, and consequently the value, of the fruit and was first implemented in Yala, initiated by provincial authorities and the Pid Thong Lang Phra royal project in a bid to generate higher income among farmers there.
In the initial stages, in late 2017, there were only 18 durian farmers with 335 trees. They ended up generating 2.34 million baht from 34,981kg of the high-grade durians which were exported to China this year, MR Disnadda Diskul, chairman of the Pid Thong Lang Phra royal project said.
That generated an average of 129,856 baht for each farmer for the season, with the highest earner raking in 317,590 baht.
A post-crop analysis found that farmers who joined the project generated higher incomes than those who didn't. Each durian tree under the scheme would generate an average of 8,578 baht while those trees not included only brought in 2,252 baht.
The Pid Thong Lang Phra approved budget of 50 million baht in 2019 fiscal year to expand durian quality project to cover all three southernmost provinces next year.
In the beginning, the Pid Thong Lang Phra joined hands with the Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperative Ministry, Interior Ministry and three provinces to assist farmers with training, materials and trade connections to improve the quality of their durian to meet the export standards required to be able to ship them to China.
The initiative tied in with Yala's plan to market itself as the "Durian city" and a pilot project was implemented in Bannang Sata district.
Charoen Pokphand Group then purchased the durians from the villagers at higher than local market prices for export to China.
Customers eat a durian hotpot at Coconut Chicken Hotpot Store in Shanghai
The announcement of better durian in the far South comes immediately on the heels of a more grandiose scheme by Malaysia. The Kuala Lumpur government is encouraging large-scale farming of durian, to make Malaysia the biggest exports of the fruit.
China's durian imports rose 15 percent last year to nearly 350,000 tonnes worth US$510 million, according to the United Nations' trade database. Nearly 40% was from Thailand, the world's top producer and exporter.
Bannang Sata district of Yala province, which has 3,000 farmers currently growing durian, aspires to become renowned as a producer of the finest durian in the region within four years.
Mr Anuchit said the Pid Thong Lang Phra Royal Project and Team D of the government's flagship Pracharath public-private project and related state agencies are implementing projects like this in the three southernmost provinces in the hope of upgrading the income and quality of life among villagers who only grow a single crop such as durian or rubber.
The Pracharath scheme aims to persuade the private sector to help contribute to rural development.
The Pid Thong Lang Phra royal project was implemented in conjunction with the sufficiency economy theory as one of a number of models for ways to address poverty in Nan, Udon Thani, Phetchabun and Uthai Thani between 2014-2015.
The project reached its second phase in 2016, which will run until 2020.