BANGKOK: Agriculture Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat on Thursday (May 8) thanked the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) for agreeing to operate its customs checkpoints 24 hours a day to facilitate imports of durians from Thailand.
“I would like to thank the GACC and its officials for attaching importance to durian imports from Thailand and for assigning officials to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Narumon said.
She added that she had contacted the GACC, which agreed to extend operating hours at border checkpoints through which Thai durian exporters ship their produce.
Moreover, she said that Chinese authorities had also increased the number of laboratories on their side of the border to test Thai durians for contamination with Basic Yellow 2 (BY2) dye.
Previously, China had found some shipments of Thai durians contaminated with the dye and rejected them.
As Thailand enters its peak durian harvest season, the Agriculture Ministry will work closely with its Chinese counterpart and the GACC to ensure smooth shipments of durians from Thailand to China, Narumon said. - The Nation/ANN
