PIMCAS, one of the most active think tanks in Thailand on China ASEAN, has
completed its latest project: “Demand Driven Strategy for Export of Thai Fruits to
China In the Context of Covid-19 Pandemic”. The research team interviewed more
than 100 units in field trips and focused groups, covering 20 provinces in Thailand
and 12 provinces in China, together with market information of the kay e-commerce
platforms in China such as TaoBao/Tmall, JD, and PinDuoDuo.
For the first time in the literature, the report describes in details components, process
and mechanism of the supply chain of Thai fruits export to China, from “R&D”, “Input
for Production”, “Farming”, “Collection”, “Processing”, “Export”, “Cross Border
Logistics”, “Import”, “Wholesale”, “Retail” and “Consumption”; The roles of Thai
government in terms of “Direction”, “Regulation”, “Extension”, “Promotion”,
“Negotiation”, and those of Chinese government e.g. “Regulation”, “Taxation” and
“Facilitation”. With the most updated data in 2021, it estimates the market size of
Thai fruits in China to be around 200 million people, and describes 21 new consumer
behaviors in 3 segments (“New Entry”, “Frequent User” and “Connoisseur”),
provides market intelligence of 6 most important Thai fruits in China (Durian,
Mangosteen, Longan, Mango, Young Coconut, and Pomelo), which accounted for
more than 99% of the value of Thai fruits in China in 2021.
The market intelligence of the 6 fruits contains: 1) Export value, volume and share in
the export of Thailand in the past 4 years; 2) Current and potential competitors in
China: their market shares, output capacities, and harvest seasons; 3) Production of
the fruit in Thailand: total planting area, output, productivity, farm gate price in the
past 3 years; monthly proportion of the harvest and other technical parameters such
as production intensity and estimated unit cost; major cultivars and varieties with
geographic indication (GI); 4) Market observation in terms product, origin/supplier,
and price; 5) Consumer insights in terms of positive key words and major negative
feedback.
The report discuss the current issues of: 1) Impacts and solutions to the problems of
ZCP (Zero Covid Policy) in China; 2) Context of digital technology for fruit export in
terms of big data & AI; IoT & automation; mobile communication & social media. It
proposes “Supply Chain Integration” (SCI) as the key strategy to achieve “Demand
Driven Supply Chain” (DDSC), and defines the concept of SCI in a 5i framework
(information, Initiation, interconnection, inspection and investment). Six strategic
objectives are set up from the SWOT matrix, supported by related strategies in
supply chain components and a guide to competitive marketing mix, an action plan
for stakeholder involvement, roadmap and milestone and resource configuration. With
an initial setback in 2022, the export value of the six fruits of Thailand is estimated to
grow from 138 billion Baht in 2021 to 296 billion Baht in 2026.
PIMCAS has conducted a series of researches and consulting projects for the
governments and companies of Thailand and China since 2012. It’s recent works in
agriculture include projects on rice export to China and business matching for
processed agricultural products. The current research is initiated and supervised by
KNIT (Knowledge Network Institute of Thailand), funded by NRCT (National Research
Council of Thailand), for ARDA (Agricultural Research Development Agency) under the
Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand.