Thailand: The real business in tropical fruit is in logistics

"We offer consumers producer prices. The fruit does not have many variations in price," stated Arche. However, the short shelf life of these products, which in most cases only last a month, reduces the possibilities to transport them. That is why companies like Sukhothai Trading always recommend using air transport to ensure the freshness and good condition of the products. "This obviously increases the product's final price, but we are sure that when consumers try these tropical fruits, they won't want to stop eating them," said Arche.

According to this Thai company, the main reasons these fruits are not consumed much in Europe are a lack of knowledge about them, disinformation, and logistics issues. "We are willing to move throughout Southeast Asia to find the fruit and volume that our customers need," stated Arche. In addition, this Thai company takes charge of all the necessary documentation, and guarantees the products will have the appropriate certificates to facilitate the operations to its clients.

So far, the most requested Thai fruits are the mangosteen, the pineapple, which is smaller than the South American variety, and papaya. However, they have a large repertoire of fruits that are becoming well known in the US, China, and Australia, and that are beginning to gain popularity in England, within Europe. "Spain buys a very small volume of these fruits and exclusively markets them in major supermarket chains and wholesalers," stated Sukhothai Trading.