Seeking Ways to Tackle the Oversupply of Mangosteen

One of the tropical fruits flooding Thailand’s local markets now is mangosteen, which, this year, faces the problem of oversupply. The Government is seeking ways to slow the falling price of mangosteen because of the oversupply problem.Dubbed the “queen of fruit,” mangosteen has a dark skin and white, sweet, scented flesh divided into segments; it can be eaten raw, poured into drinks, made into tarts, or added to seafood curries. Because of the suitability of climatic conditions, it is grown in abundance in the eastern and southern regions of the country. Mangosteen is usually available from May to September, and it has high status in both domestic and export markets.In his interview for the program “Open Phitsanulok Mansion,” broadcast on Television of Thailand Channel 11 and Radio Thailand on August 25, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said that Thailand’s mangosteen output in 2007 doubled, probably because of the heavy rain this year. So oversupply has become a problem. However, he said, mangosteen is a popular fruit among foreign consumers and it stands a good chance of being exported more to the international market. Thailand plans to ship more mangosteen to China and other countries.The Ministry of Science and Technology has recently held a seminar and a press conference to present innovations for developing mangosteen products. The innovations came from research projects to offer alternatives to tackle the oversupply of mangosteen and add economic value to it, at both the industrial and grassroots levels. Minister of Science and Technology Professor Dr. Yongyuth Yuthavong said that several government agencies were looking into the falling price of mangosteen. For instance, they want to ensure that mangosteen prices are in line with the market mechanism. They also stress the policies of processing agricultural products and exporting more mangosteen to such countries as the United States and China.However, he said, these policies were meant to ease the immediate problem of oversupply and they would not be able to solve the problem in the long run. So innovations have been introduced through the application of appropriate technology. For example, mangosteen can be processed into dried fruit, and it can be used as a raw material for producing cosmetics, medicine, and juice.In 2003, Thailand exported 13,000 metric tonnes of mangosteen, but it earned only 295 million baht in export value. The National Innovation Agency, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, has bought 100 tonnes of mangosteen from growers this year for use to develop prototypes of new mangosteen products in the form of sweets, health food supplements, and medicine. More research and development will be carried out to promote and process the “queen of fruit.”