Thailand’s Nam Dok Mai mangoes from Bang Pae district of Ratchaburi province, southwest of Bangkok, are popular among mango-loving consumers abroad.
With a variety of sizes, from 400 grammes to much larger, the mangoes are one of the top products packaged and exported to countries such as Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan, which don’t produce mangoes for themselves.
To ensure the best-quality of the delicious produce, local community enterprise members are involved in selecting the best mangoes for export.
Faced with challenges to produce the right amount of mangoes to keep pace with increasing demand, the community enterprise was initiated two years ago as a better solution. This has increased the quality of the mangoes, assured sufficient production levels, as well as lighted a sense of unity among those living in the community. With more than fifty community members, they share their knowledge and expertise. Making their community venture an extremely valuable and sustainable platform.
“So far there has been much success. A lot of this has to do with our knowledge-sharing activities such as organising seminars and workshops to further educate those involved in the same field,” said Mr Rachen Sukwanarom, the founder of the community-co-operative for mango exports.
He boasted that the Nam Dok Mai Sri Thong and R2 E2 varieties of mangoes are the finest produce of Bang Pae district, with as much as a staggering 22 tonnes of mangoes being exported annually. With the bulk of the production completed during off-season, the incomes have almost doubled for the members, giving farmers much more financial security.
“We produce over 20 tonnes for export a year, which is a high number. We aim to increase the production to also fulfill the domestic market,” Mr Rachen said.
On the other hand, mangoes which don’t pass the enterprise’s stringent preliminary quality-check are used to make other mango-centred desserts, such as “mamuang-guan” or sundried mangoes.
The alternative products are ideas which help add value to local labour and produce and give knowledgeable farmers a stable platform in the ever-flourishing trade.
