Longan demand and price plummeting

Longan demand and price plummeting

Battambang provincial Department of Commerce director Kim Huort told The Post on Tuesday that shipments of Cambodian agricultural goods to China via Thailand have been affected by the novel coronavirus.

Battambang longan, he said, has been hit particularly hard, with the price of the fruit declining by 1,100 riel/kg. The fruit now sells for about 2,500 riel/kg.

“Due to the virus outbreak, the price of longan has dropped as demand among consumers in Thailand decreases,” he said.

Battambang province has 4,279ha dedicated to farming longan, with an average yield of 14 tonnes per hectare. Last year, farmers harvested 54, 866 tonnes, Huort said.

Cambodian longan is mostly exported to China and Thailand or consumed locally, he said.

Ung Bunly, a longan farmer in Battambang, said he is now only selling the fruit to local consumers as orders from Thailand have stopped as a result of Covid-19.

“This season, not many Thai firms are buying longan from us. China has also stopped placing orders,” he said.

This contrasts with the experience of some farmers in Pailin province. Sreng Sreang, a farmer and member of the Pailin Longan Farmers’ Community, said the price of his longan is stable thanks to contract farming.

Sreang said he is selling the fruit for 3,000 riel/kg. He has sold about 15 tonnes of longan this season.

“Fortunately, thanks to contract farming, the price has remained stable,” he said.

Most longan from Pailin is shipped to Thailand, where the fruit is processed and packaged for export to China, said Un Theng, member of the board of directors of the Pailin Longan Farmers’ Community.

Theng said about 8,000 tonnes of Pailin longan are exported to China via Thailand each year.

Longan farms occupy about 900ha in Pailin province. Nationwide, there are 8,816ha dedicated to the fruit, with Battambang and Pailin accounting for nearly 80 per cent of that.

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