China and Thailand To Open 5 New Fruit Inspection Stations

On Aug. 14, China and Thailand reached an agreement to add five new inspection and quarantine stations under the existing protocol for trading fruits via a third country, which was signed in September 2021. This move is intended to reduce transportation costs, ease congestion at existing inspection points during peak seasons and expedite the distribution of Thai fruits across China.

Thailand will open three new stations: Thung Chang in Nan province, Ban Huak in Phayao province and Phu Du in Chiang Rai province. China will add two more stations at Mengkang Port and Daluo Port, both in Yunnan province. The new facilities, which will begin operations on Sept. 1, will bring the total number of fresh fruit export inspection stations in Thailand and China to 9 and 12, respectively.

Mengkang Port, located in the city of Pu’er, faces Laos’s Landui Port and serves as a key land route connecting Yunnan with Laos and Southeast Asia. The first dedicated inspection facility for imported fruits at Mengkang Port opened on Jan. 25, 2025. Daluo Port, located in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, is a major border port on a national highway, adjacent to Myanmar’s Eastern Shan State Special Region 4.

The original protocol, signed in September 2021, was followed by an official announcement in early November detailing the rules for fruits transiting third countries. The announcement set standards for approved orchards and packing facilities, labeling, packaging, phytosanitary certificates and transit procedures. Containers must remain sealed during transit. Upon arrival at the entry ports, Chinese and Thai authorities subject the fruits to inspection and quarantine procedures according to the protocol and relevant regulations, allowing only those that pass inspection to enter.

Image: Pixabay

This article was based on a Chinese article. Read the original article.