Thai coconut exports to China surge as demand peaks in summer

BANGKOK, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's coconut exports to China under free trade agreement (FTA) privileges surged as demand for tropical fruits peaked during the summer, a Thai commerce official said Wednesday.

The Southeast Asian country exported coconuts worth 187.91 million U.S. dollars to China under the China-ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area (FTA) privileges during the middle of the second quarter this year, an increase of 26.96 percent year-on-year, according to the ministry's Department of Foreign Trade (DFT).

China ranked as the largest importer of Thai coconuts, accounting for 54.83 percent of the import volume, said Ronnarong Phoolpipat, director-general of the DFT, in a statement, noting that over 80 percent of the coconuts going to China came from Thailand.

Due to the continued high popularity among Chinese consumers, over 3.3 billion dollars worth of Thai fruits were exported to China under the China-ASEAN FTA privileges between January and May, according to the DFT.