Thailand produces less longan due to severe droughts: official

Thailand is producing less longan either for export or domestic market this year, primarily due to severe droughts, said a government official on Tuesday.

Several northern provinces of the country are expected to yield a combined 473,000 tons of longan throughout this year, accounting for a 13 percent drop from last year, said Anusorn Pornchai, head of the Office of Agricultural Economics' Chiang Mai provincial branch.

The decline in total longan volume is largely caused by droughts throughout northern Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai province where about 4,500 acres of longan plantations have been found critically damaged by droughts, the official said.

That included a large number of longan trees which have already dried up standing due to severe lack of water for several weeks.

Harvest season on an estimated 320,000 acres of longan plantations in Chiang Mai and other northern provinces is not expected until August, he said.

However, the fruit will likely sell for a higher price in the domestic market due to a shortfall in this year's production, according to the official. One kilogram of longan might probably sell for 45 baht (1.25 U.S. dollars) this year, compared to 35 baht (0.97 U.S. dollar) a kilo last year.

China is a major export market for Thai longan, mostly grown in Chiang Mai province. Enditem