Cracking Down on Underripe Durians: Department of Agriculture Intensifies Quality Controls for Eastern Thailand Durian Production
Thailand's Department of Agriculture is cracking down on underripe durians from Eastern Thailand, establishing inspection checkpoints and conducting quality testing across Chachoengsao, Rayong, and Trat provinces to protect the country's gl
The Department of Agriculture is coordinating intensive quality control measures for durians from Eastern Thailand, actively eliminating underripe and substandard fruit from markets to build consumer confidence and protect Thailand's durian reputation. On May 10, 2025, Agriculture Department director Anchalee Suwajittanon announced that the agency is implementing comprehensive quality management across all sectors in the region's three major producing provinces: Chachoengsao, Rayong, and Trat.
Currently, the Department of Agriculture is working with relevant agencies to continuously enforce quality controls, including establishing inspection checkpoints, conducting random dry matter percentage testing, pre-harvest inspections, and organizing orchards and packing houses across the three provinces.
From March 1 to May 7, 2025, a total of 53 pre-harvest inspection service points operated across the three provinces, processing 15,136 samples from 11,938 farmers. Chachoengsao recorded 6,534 samples, Trat 5,024 samples, and Rayong 3,578 samples.
Rayong province coordinated with local administration, community leaders, police, farmer representatives, and agricultural agencies to establish 4 checkpoint stations. These inspected 645 trucks of durians with random dry matter testing on each vehicle, finding only 2 non-compliant samples. Officials educated distributors and traders on the principle of not harvesting or selling underripe durians to maintain Thailand's durian standards.
Chachoengsao province checked 633 trucks through stations in Klung, Nai Ai, and Makham districts, conducting random dry matter testing on 57 samples with 51 passing standards and only 6 failing. For trucks at risk, officials coordinated with destination packing houses to implement strict sorting, with further inspections by the Agricultural Research and Development Office Region 6 according to Thai standard 9070-2566.
Chachoengsao Agricultural Office and district offices also coordinated to monitor packing houses, preventing substandard fruit from reaching markets. They discovered 43 non-standard durians (119 kilograms) in Nai Ai district and 208 durians (496 kilograms) in Chachoengsao city, which were marked and kept from market distribution according to provincial fruit quality control measures.
Trat province's special task force for preventing low-quality durians established 4 checkpoint stations covering Khao Saming, Bo Rai, and Muang Trat districts, checking 1,687 trucks. The Ban Tha Chot checkpoint in Khao Saming, a critical inspection point, found 1,473 trucks with complete dry matter percentage test certificates, while those lacking documentation underwent external inspection and random testing by officials.
