Middlemen are being sternly warned they could face imprisonment and heavy fines if they engaged in price collusion to suppress the price of southern durian, which are just starting to be harvested. 

Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said today (Friday) he has instructed the Internal Trade Department and commerce officials in southern provinces to investigate any attempt by middlemen to collude in refusing to buy durian and mangosteen to suppress their prices.

Only about 5% of the durian output in southern provinces has been harvested so far. The average price of export-grade durian currently ranges from 130-135 baht/kg, compared to about 116 baht/kg last year, while the prices of export-grade mangosteen range from 74-98 baht/kg, compared to an average of 37 baht/kg last year.

Southern durian is harvested later than in eastern provinces, such as Prachin Buri, Rayong and especially Chanthaburi, which is the largest producer of durian in the country.

Jurin said that two laws can be invoked to deal with exploitative middlemen engaged in price collusion. One is the trade competition law, which carries two years in prison and a fine of 10% of their revenues on conviction. The other regards price manipulation, which carries a seven-year prison term and/or a fine of 140,000 baht on conviction.

The commerce minister said that prices of agricultural products, especially rice, are currently higher than the government’s guaranteed prices, adding that he expects Thailand to be able to export 8 million metric tonnes of rice this year.

Prices of durian, mangosteen and mango have increased compared to last year, he added.