Associations oppose Durian Act over export cess concerns

Thansettakij•Economy•10d ago

Reader Briefing

Two fruit industry associations express concern that the proposed Durian Act's export cess will increase costs and lower purchase prices for farmers.

•The proposed Durian Act has been discussed for over 2 years, with a public hearing held on September 7, 2026.
•Sanchai Puranachaikiri of the Thai Fruit Traders and Exporters Association opposes the export cess of up to 2 baht per kilogram.
•Krittidech Yurod of the Thai Durian Association argues the law should prioritize quality control over fund establishment, specifically targeting 'young durians'.
•The Thai Durian Association proposes that if a fund is created, 20% should go to R&D and 30-40% to disaster relief for farmers.

Overview

•A public hearing regarding the draft Durian Act was held on September 7, 2026.
•Sanchai Puranachaikiri stated that the Durian Act should be reviewed or cancelled if it focuses on fund collection rather than structural industry problems.
•Sanchai Puranachaikiri argued that a cess of 2 baht per kilogram may be reflected as a price reduction for farmers despite exporters being the legal payers.
•Krittidech Yurod asserted that the law should focus on empowering officials to penalize those selling young durians to protect the reputation of Thai durians.
•Krittidech Yurod warned that a cess of 1 baht per kilogram would add approximately 18,000 baht in costs per export container.
•The Thai Durian Association proposed limiting office administration budgets to no more than 5% and using existing local government spaces to reduce costs.
•The draft law consists of approximately 8-9 chapters and over 50 sections, but Krittidech Yurod believes the penalties are currently not strong enough.

Full article content is available on the original source.

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Source: Thansettakij (Original)

Key Quotes

Sanchai Puranachaikiri

"Durian has a different nature from rice or rubber because it is a "fresh fruit" with a limited shelf life and cannot be stocked for later distribution."

ทุเรียนมีธรรมชาติแตกต่างจากข้าวหรือยางพารา เพราะเป็น "ผลไม้สด" มีอายุการเก็บรักษาจำกัด ไม่สามารถเก็บสต็อกเพื่อรอการระบายได้

Krittidech Yurod

"Farmers do not want a law issued to collect money, but want an Act used to control and manage groups of people who damage the durian industry."

ชาวสวนไม่ได้ต้องการกฎหมายที่ออกมาเพื่อเก็บเงิน แต่ต้องการ พ.ร.บ. ที่ใช้ควบคุมและจัดการกับกลุ่มคนที่ทำให้อุตสาหกรรมทุเรียนเสียหาย

Key Entities

Organization

Thai Fruit Traders and Exporters Association(สมาคมผู้ค้าและส่งออกผลไม้ไทย)

An association whose honorary president opposes the export cess in the proposed Durian Act.

Thai Durian Association(สมาคมทุเรียนไทย)

An association that proposes the Durian Act should prioritize quality control and specific fund allocations for R&D and relief.

Than Settakij(ฐานเศรษฐกิจ)

The news outlet reporting on the developments of the Durian Act.

Person

Sanchai Puranachaikiri(สัญชัย ปุรณะชัยคีรี)

Honorary President of the Thai Fruit Traders and Exporters Association.

Krittidech Yurod(กฤติเดช อยู่รอด)

President of the Thai Durian Association.

Law

Durian Act(พ.ร.บ.ทุเรียน)

A proposed piece of legislation focused on the durian industry, including the establishment of a fund and export cesses.