There has been a surge in demand for Thai longan, now being offered for sale via China's Tmall.com website.
Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said on Thursday there had been high interest in longan when his ministry organised a business matching event on Wednesday between about 70 Thai food and fruit companies and Tmall.com, China's biggest business-to-consumer retail website under the Alibaba Group.
On Wednesday alone, orders were sealed for longan exports worth 572 million baht.
"During this negotiation there was high interest in longan. Orders are expected for 8,000-10,000 tonnes worth about 200 million baht for sale on Tmall.com, 100% more than last year," Mr Sontirat said. He expected orders would continue to double over the next three years.
"This is a golden opportunity for Thai farmers to export more longan to China," he said.
Also in high demand were other fresh and processed fruits, rice-based products and animal feed.
Mr Sontirat said the export promotion was being conducted through the Thai Flagship Store on Tmall.com. The store started last month and Thai farm products were getting a huge welcome. Some 80,000 durian were sold in one minute and 130,000 durian worth about 70 million baht were ordered in three days, he said.
Chomthong Agricultural Cooperative Co and Mataproduct Co in Chiang Mai province were given the job of gathering longan for sale via Tmall.com.
