Opposition MP Weighs Durian in Parliament, Proves No Size Sells for 100 Baht; Slams Deputy PM Supratip for Wrong Timing
An opposition MP weighed durians in parliament to prove Deputy PM Supratip's 100-baht promotional campaign was impossible, citing poor timing that risks Thailand's durian reputation and harms Rayong farmers facing middlemen exploitation.
At 10:40 AM on April 29, 2025, during a House of Representatives session presided over by Mallika Chirathphanvanit, the first deputy speaker, lawmakers considered a pending motion to establish a special committee to address falling agricultural prices. MP Kraikhon Silpajai from Rayong province of the People's Party discussed how Rayong produces various fruits recognized nationwide and internationally, but farmers face rising production costs—fertilizer, pesticides, and fuel prices all increasing annually. He focused on durians and mangosteen, arguing that the government should investigate middlemen, particularly Chinese traders, who completely control the market and set prices unilaterally, even buying from orchards before fruits mature and harvesting immature durians to catch early-season prices at the expense of quality.
Recently, an influencer created content claiming premium-grade durians selling for 600-700 baht would be offered at just 100 baht each, with Deputy PM and Commerce Minister Supratip joining the promotional campaign. "But once concerns arose from farmers about market price collapse, the Commerce Ministry quickly backtracked, claiming these were lower grades, not export quality. Ultimately, the influencer couldn't actually sell them at that price," Kraikhon stated.
Kraikhon brought a scale to parliament and weighed durians to demonstrate the impossibility. A jumbo-sized durian with mostly shell and little flesh selling at 40 baht per kilogram weighed 6.7 kg for about 270 baht. A medium-grade undersized durian at 80 baht per kilogram weighed 2.2 kg for roughly 180 baht. A pop-pak sized durian at 1.4 kg cost 112 baht. "Thus, no durian sells for exactly 100 baht, and yesterday's livestream showed no 100-baht durians—not even one million of them," he said.
"I thank all influencers for promoting durians, but the Commerce Minister's involvement is risky due to poor timing and coordination, potentially damaging Thai durian value and encouraging illegal imports from neighboring countries," Kraikhon warned. He noted that mangosteen prices fall as supply increases, and last year farmers had to abandon fallen mangosteens because labor costs exceeded fruit value. Despite the Interior Ministry's guidelines for government purchase prices matching announced rates during agricultural crises, no official prices are ever announced, leaving farmers perpetually disadvantaged.
Kraikhon proposed investigating agricultural product quality entering the market, especially immature durians, inspecting middlemen and Chinese traders for legal violations, and pursuing shell companies holding durian plantations for Chinese capital investors, while cracking down on illegal durian imports.
