Export Competitiveness of Thai Durian in China Market

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the export competitiveness of Thai durian in China fruit market. Thailand is the world's largest durian exporter which accounts for 90% of the world production. The free trade agreement canceled the tariff of HS (07) and HS (08) chapters of the products (vegetables and fruits), resulting in rapid development of Thailand's tropical fruit in Chinese market. Although, China is the biggest importer of Thailand however Thailand is facing higher competition intensively with Malaysia and Vietnam. In methodology, this paper applied the revealed comparative advantage index, international market share rate, and export contribution rate of Thai durian. The results found that: (1) The durian trade between China and Thailand mainly based on the highway and waterway transportation. (2) China-Thailand free trade agreement between the two countries promotes the export trade of Thailand durian. (3) The RCA values of fresh durian in Thailand show that Thailand has a dominant comparative advantage in China.

Keywords: Durian market, Export competitiveness, Thailand-China fruit trade