Thailand is popularly known as the "land
of smiles", "land of yellow robes" and probably another
popularity of Thailand is a land of tropical fruits as the country is
blessed with a myriad of delicious tropical and temperate fruits which
only vary depending on the season.
Even though a fruit may not be in season,
it can be found in candied or preserved form. Moreover, some
fruit like grapes are even coached to bear fruit all year round.
Indeed, Thailand is a paradise for those who love fruit. Generally
Thai fruits are sweet including those which are traditionally
sour such as santol and tamarind.
Since fruit crops in Thailand are plentiful
all the year round, they are becoming more and more important
export earners for the country which in 1989 earned up to 8,503.74
million baht from its export of fresh and processed fruits to
nearby countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan which
prefer Thai mangoes especially their favourite type known in
Thai as "Nang Klang Wan".
Regarding seasonality, Thai fruit crops
can be classified into two groups. The first is a seasonal fruit
crop which includes mangoes, durians, rambutans, longans, sugar
apples, mangosteens and lichees. The second group is a year-round
crop which includes pineapples, bananas, papayas, and jackfruits.
This is the reason why fresh fruit is available in the local
market everyday of the year.
Recently, several temperate fruit crops
such as apples, peaches and strawberries have been successfully
grown in the hilly areas of northern Thailand. Actually, the
major fruit-producing areas are located mostly in the eastern
and southern regions of the country, even then the central region
also produces a variety of fruit for the markets in every season,
for example pomeloes are largely grown in Nakhon Pathom Province
while Ratchaburi Province is widely known as the grape-producing
area etc.
As Thai fruit farmers are always eager
to plant new varieties and improve the existing varieties, Thailand
is never without fruit. In the country side, some fruit trees
such as bananas are also used as a fence around their houses,
though they are far inferior to barbed-wire, they provide greenery
and fresh air to all living nearby.
This story comes from "Essays on
Thailand" by Thanapol Chadchaidee. It is used here with
his permission. The book contains 60 essays about Thailand written
in Thai and English.
