Dried longan is prepared for sale at Sanpatong Cooperatives in Chiang Mai. Indonesia has banned imports of Thai longan and durian during harvest seasons.(Source: bangkokpost.com)Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand is mulling retaliatory measures againstIndonesia after the Southeast Asian neighbour banned imports of some Thai freshagricultural products like longan and durian.
Indonesia’s ban on imports ofhorticultural crops, especially fruits, was made during Thailand’s annualharvest season, which could lead to overproduction due to lack of consumptionmarket.
Thai CommerceMinister Sontirat Sontijirawong told reporters that they are studying theimpact and proper retaliatory measures against Indonesia.
Imposing suchtrade barriers during the harvest season are considered unfair, especially onproducts with short post-harvest preservation time like fresh fruits, Sontiratstressed.
Director-Generalof the Trade Negotiations Department of Thailand Auramon Supthaweethum said thedepartment is consulting related agencies on proper measures against the fruitban. However, she insisted that the measures scheduled to be disclosed thismonth will do nothing to contravene established international trade agreements.
Last year,Thailand exported 97,000 tonnes of longan to Indonesia worth 83.7 million USD,with shipments of durian amounting to 760 tonnes worth 1.2 million USD.
In 2016, theIndonesian Government only allowed imports of Thai durian in only one month ofthe year’s first half, with unlimited amount of the fruit.
Over the lastfive year, two-way trade between Thailand and Indonesia averaged 16.2 billionUSD per year.
In 2017, overallbilateral trade totalled 16.2 billion USD, up 11.5 percent from 2016.
For the firstfour months of 2018, two-way trade rose 14.7 percent from the same period lastyear to 6 billion USD.-VNA
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