Longbang Border Crossing: A New Gateway for Thai Fruit Exports to China

Recently, six containers of Thai durians transshipped through Vietnam were successfully cleared for the first time at the Longbang border crossing near the city of Baise in Guangxi province. This milestone marks the official commencement of Thai fruit imports through Longbang, making it the sixth land port in Guangxi capable of handling Thai fruit.

This shipment of durians reportedly totaled 96 metric tons, with a value exceeding 4.2 million Chinese yuan ($583,000). Once consolidated in Nanning, the durians will be distributed to markets nationwide.

Longbang, one of Guangxi’s five major international land ports, lies directly across from Vietnam’s Cao Bang province, approximately 145 kilometers from the Friendship Pass border crossing in Pingxiang. The Longbang border crossing offers significant advantages for importing agricultural products, making it particularly well suited for goods such as hard-shelled fruits, frozen seafood, spices and traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. The port can handle up to 1,000 trucks daily, with its current throughput averaging around 300 vehicles.

The transport distance from Baise to the major metropolis of Chongqing is 866 kilometers, 200 kilometers shorter than the 1,085-kilometer route from Pingxiang. Although the distance from Thailand to the Longbang border crossing is 145 kilometers longer than to the Friendship Pass border crossing — adding an estimated cost of 5,000 yuan ($694) to 8,000 yuan ($1,110) per container — Longbang serves as a valuable alternative during peak seasons. This is expected to help alleviate traffic congestion at other ports and reduce the risk of fruit quality deterioration caused by extended transportation times.

In November 2021, China’s General Administration of Customs issued an announcement detailing the phytosanitary requirements for fruit transshipments between China and Thailand via a third country. Currently, 10 Chinese border crossings are approved for this practice. The Longbang border crossing was officially upgraded to an international land port in December 2023.

Image: iStock

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.