Thailand's Record Durian Harvest Faces Labour Gaps, Export Bottlenecks and Vietnam's Growing Challenge

A Bigger Crop Meets a Shortage of Hands

Thailand expects 1.78 million tonnes of durian in 2026, up 10% from the previous year, but a shortage of skilled workers threatens its ability to harvest, pack and export the fruit. The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) forecasts that the eastern region alone will produce 1.06 million tonnes, or about 59.5% of the national total.

Wittayakorn Maneenetr, director-general of the DIT, has identified a particularly difficult period in June. Eastern orchards harvest from March through June, while southern production begins between June and August. Their overlap will put extra pressure on workers, collection centres and shipping containers just as the industry needs to move large volumes of perishable fruit.

Vietnam, meanwhile, projects durian production of 2 million tonnes this year. That would exceed Thailand's forecast by 220,000 tonnes, or about 12%. Both countries depend heavily on Chinese demand, making the ability to deliver fruit reliably and at a competitive price central to the coming season.

Thailand supplied 76% of global durian exports in 2020. Its position now faces pressure from several directions: workforce gaps that have persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic, rising cultivation costs, tighter Chinese inspections and growing competition. More fruit means more potential sales, but it also means more work at every stage between the orchard and the buyer.

As of February 2, 2026, the immediate concern is whether the industry can handle the forecast harvest without fruit becoming stranded. A collection centre shortage during the busiest weeks could leave tonnes of durian rotting in the fields, even when consumers elsewhere are ready to buy it.

Why Skilled Harvest Workers Are Hard to Replace

Thai durian farms have long relied on skilled Cambodian workers to select, cut and pack fruit without damaging its delicate flesh. More of those workers are returning home, leaving gaps that workers from Myanmar cannot immediately fill because they need extensive training to meet industry standards.

Durian harvesting involves more than lifting fruit from a tree. Workers must judge which fruit is ready, handle its spiky exterior and protect the flesh during cutting and packing. A larger workforce helps only when enough people have the skills needed to keep quality consistent.

Demographic changes, border policies and the lasting effects of the pandemic have all contributed to the shortage. Research published in Geoforum, based on interviews with 52 farmers in Eastern Thailand in mid-2024, found that farmers had changed how they worked in response to COVID-19 disruptions.

Heavy machinery use rose from 33% before the pandemic to 44% among the farmers interviewed, an increase of 11 percentage points. Farmers also became more involved in cooperatives and adopted e-commerce channels, allowing them to organise collectively and reach buyers through online sales.

The research described farmers' adjustments and their continuing environmental, social and economic effects:

Farmers indicated using more heavy machinery and adopting new distribution channels like e-commerce, but many of these shifts continue to produce lasting consequences for environmental, social, and economic systems.

Machines can take over some farm tasks, and new sales channels can help fruit reach customers. Picking and sorting durian still depend heavily on human hands. Changes in cultivation and distribution therefore leave the central harvest staffing problem unresolved.

Legal Hiring and the Search for More Workers

Parliamentary testimony in March 2024 cited 192,655 "excess workers" in manufacturing and services who could theoretically move into agriculture. Plantation owners nevertheless hesitated to recruit them because of concerns about forced labour allegations and compliance with international standards.

Those concerns bring together two needs: enough workers to bring in the crop and employment arrangements that satisfy ethical sourcing requirements in major export markets. A pool of potential recruits does not automatically become a trained, legally employed harvest workforce.

Yara Thailand, a major supplier of crop nutrition products, identifies labour shortages as a central pressure on durian producers, alongside rising input costs and climate volatility. The company promotes fertilizer application by drone and fertigation, which delivers fertilizer through irrigation systems, to reduce manual work during cultivation.

These methods can reduce the time workers spend feeding and watering trees. They address a different part of production from selecting ripe durian, cutting it and preparing it for sale. The industry still needs skilled crews when the harvest arrives.

June Puts Collection Centres and Transport Under Pressure

Collection centres connect farmers with exporters. They bring fruit together from different orchards, grade it, pack it and prepare shipments. When too much fruit arrives at once, delays at these centres can spread back to farms and forward to transport operators.

The DIT has warned that collection centre shortages could become acute during June's overlap between the eastern and southern seasons. It also expects shortages of shipping containers at the peak, a recurring problem that can strand perishable goods at ports.

Thailand's harvest calendar and recent policy discussions show how the pressure has developed:

• March 2024: Parliamentary testimony cited 192,655 excess workers in manufacturing and services as a possible source of agricultural labour.
• Mid-2024: Interviews with 52 farmers documented changes in machinery use, cooperative participation and online selling after the pandemic.
• May 2025: Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met fruit growers at Suan Rak Tawan Farm in Chanthaburi.
• March through June 2026: The eastern harvest is expected to supply much of the region's forecast 1.06 million tonnes.
• June 2026: Eastern and southern harvests overlap, increasing demand for workers, collection capacity and containers.
• June through August 2026: Southern production adds further supply while Thai exporters face competition from Vietnamese fruit.

Harvesting, packing and transport have to work together. Recruiting more pickers would help orchards, but fruit would still need space at collection centres and a container or another transport connection. Expanding one part of the chain while another remains congested can simply move the queue to a different location.

Chinese Inspections Add Another Time Constraint

Chinese authorities have intensified checks for Basic Yellow 2 dye and cadmium contamination. Exporters must meet these requirements while moving a larger crop through an already pressured network.

Basic Yellow 2 is the dye targeted by the inspections, while cadmium is a contamination concern. Checks intended to protect consumers can also lengthen the time shipments spend awaiting clearance, adding pressure when fruit needs to reach its destination quickly.

The DIT maintains discussions with Chinese officials to identify contamination sources and streamline inspection procedures. Exporters meanwhile face changing compliance demands alongside the practical challenge of arranging harvest crews, packing capacity and transport.

China accounts for approximately 80% of Thai durian exports. That concentration means a delay in access to the Chinese market affects the destination for about four out of every five units exported. Finding other buyers is therefore closely connected to reducing pressure on the industry's main export channel.

Two Routes to China, With More Attention on R3A

Thailand currently uses two principal overland routes to Chinese markets. One crosses Thailand's northeastern border, travels through Laos and Vietnam and enters China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The other, known as R3A, starts at the northern border and passes through Laos to Yunnan province.

Officials want greater use of the R3A corridor from Chiang Khong to Kunming. Its shorter distance compared with the route through Vietnam could reduce transit time for perishable cargo.

R3A could also improve access to western and central China, with Chengdu potentially serving as a distribution hub. A hub is a place where shipments are received and then sent onward to other markets, allowing exporters to reach buyers beyond the point where the cargo first enters the country.

For growers and exporters, route planning is part of the same problem as harvest staffing. Fruit needs to leave orchards, pass inspections and reach buyers within a workable schedule. More use of R3A could create another way to distribute the crop, while collection centres and border procedures would still need to handle the volume.

Vietnam's Growth Meets Thailand's Price Squeeze

Vietnamese durian exports to China rose approximately 17% in 2025 after earlier phytosanitary issues were resolved. Phytosanitary requirements are plant health rules governing agricultural trade. Vietnam's forecast production of 2 million tonnes in 2026 adds further competitive pressure.

Thailand sent 928,645 tonnes of durian to China in 2023, with the recorded value given as 4.5 billion baht. During the first half of 2024, Thai durian exports reached 595,681.88 tonnes worth 79.3 billion baht. The periods and scope of those figures differ, so the more immediate illustration of trading pressure is the relationship between buying costs and selling prices.

More than 1,500 traders competed during the first half of 2024. By late June, durian at China's Jiangnan market had fallen to 600 yuan per box weighing 18.5 kilograms, equivalent to approximately 146 baht per kilogram.

Thai procurement costs plus packaging expenses had reached 185 to 195 baht per kilogram. Against a selling price of 146 baht, that left a gap of 39 to 49 baht per kilogram before any other expenses. Established traders suffered heavy losses, while inexperienced buyers left the market.

Vietnamese fruit arriving during Thailand's southern season gives Chinese buyers more choice and greater bargaining power. Thai farmers face that pricing pressure while drought and input inflation raise production costs. A record crop can therefore bring financial strain when sale prices fall faster than the cost of producing and moving the fruit.

Farmers Seek Longer Permits and Government Support

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visited Chanthaburi in May 2025 and met growers at Suan Rak Tawan Farm. Farmers described the industry's difficulties as an existential threat and called for immediate action on labour shortages.

Growers requested an extension of migrant work permits from three months to six months. They also sought permission for workers to travel between provinces to follow successive harvests. Both proposals were aimed at keeping experienced workers available across more of the agricultural calendar.

Chanthaburi MP Yanthicha Buaphuean raised the same concern about the three month permit period. She also proposed a compensation fund of 100 million baht for families affected by wild elephant incursions, which create another source of damage and insecurity for eastern plantations.

The government's stated response promised consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and support for research:

The government will consult with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to find sustainable solutions, and will actively promote research and development to strengthen Thai produce against increasing competition from neighbouring countries.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, representing the People's Party, presented an agenda with four points for the eastern region. His proposals included expanding the migrant worker card system to speed up legal hiring while maintaining protections against forced labour allegations, reforming water management and using technology to address conflicts between people and wild elephants.

The permit extensions, changes to worker mobility and compensation fund were requests or proposals. No implementation date was given. Farmers' immediate concern was to secure enough people for the harvest while managing water shortages, crop damage and the legal requirements of hiring.

Technology Helps With Cultivation, While Picking Still Needs People

Malaysia offers examples of durian growers using technology to reduce some demands on workers. Farms are deploying sensors connected through 5G networks and pest detection powered by artificial intelligence to manage production with fewer people.

Sustainable Hrvest, a Malaysian provider of smart farming solutions, connects soil sensors to automatic sprinkler systems. The sensors monitor moisture and temperature, allowing irrigation to respond to conditions rather than depending entirely on workers checking fields manually.

Tan Han Wei, founder of the company, says the sensors detect waterlogging and heat stress, while its artificial intelligence systems identify pest outbreaks with 70% accuracy. These tools become more useful as worker availability falls and wages rise. Malaysia's Penang region has also introduced systems to track fruit through the supply chain and verify authenticity and quality.

Thailand has begun adopting similar tools, although use remains uneven. Yara Thailand's FarmCare app, launched in 2022, serves more than 390,000 farmers with fertilizer calculations and weather forecasts. A recently added booking feature lets farmers arrange precision fertilizer application by drone using a smartphone.

Weather information, irrigation controls and drone services can reduce labour needs during cultivation. Durian harvesting remains difficult to automate because workers must handle the fruit's physical characteristics carefully and judge ripeness with precision.

Greater investment in automation could support Thailand's competitiveness over time, but equipment and training require money. Smallholder farmers dominate Thai production and may struggle to afford that transition without government support. For the 2026 crop, the available technologies address some farm work while the shortage of skilled harvest workers continues.

New Buyers, Local Sales and a Proposed Role for Lisa

The DIT is testing markets for chilled and frozen durian in Middle Eastern countries, where initial feedback indicates growing demand. Promotional campaigns also target Indian tourists, introducing consumers from India to the fruit's distinctive characteristics.

Domestic plans include supermarket promotions and mobile grocery outlets serving smaller villages. These could increase local consumption and absorb some surplus fruit that cannot secure an export channel.

At the Chanthaburi meeting, growers proposed recruiting Thai K-pop star Lalisa "Lisa" Manobal as a global ambassador for Thai fruits. They argued that her international influence could help expand sales in South Korea, India and the Middle East, beyond the heavily concentrated Chinese market.

Growers suggested that such efforts could roughly double annual fruit export value from the current 200 billion to 300 billion baht to 500 billion baht. The figure was an ambition attached to their marketing proposal, rather than an announced sales result.

Thailand's response combines immediate needs with changes that take longer: legal access to workers, enough collection and transport capacity, compliance with Chinese inspections, technology for cultivation and more destinations for the crop. The forecast 1.78 million tonnes gives the industry a substantial opportunity, but growers need those connections to work before abundance becomes unsold fruit.

Key Points

• Thailand forecasts 1.78 million tonnes of durian in 2026, up 10%, with the eastern region contributing 1.06 million tonnes, about 59.5% of the total.
• June's overlap between eastern and southern harvests will increase pressure on skilled workers, collection centres and containers.
• Cambodian workers are returning home in greater numbers, while replacement workers from Myanmar need extensive training.
• China takes approximately 80% of Thai durian exports and has intensified inspections for Basic Yellow 2 dye and cadmium contamination.
• Vietnam expects production of 2 million tonnes after its durian exports to China rose approximately 17% in 2025.
• Farmers have requested migrant permit extensions from three to six months and permission for workers to follow harvests across provinces.
• Officials are promoting the R3A route to China, testing Middle Eastern markets and planning more domestic sales.
• Digital tools, sensors and drones can reduce cultivation work, but skilled people remain essential for harvesting and sorting.