Thailand recently destroyed over 64 tons of durian, which was rejected by Chinese customs due to the detection of carcinogenic dye components. The Thai Department of Agriculture has suspended the export licenses of 26 durian wholesalers and launched an investigation to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

According to a report released by the Thai Department of Agriculture on February 6th, this batch of durians was found to contain Auramine O (also known as Basic Yellow 2) during a Chinese customs inspection in January. Jinamine O is a dye classified as a Group 2B carcinogen by the World Health Organization. In recent years, it has been used by some unscrupulous vendors to artificially enhance the color of durian flesh, making it look more bright yellow and attractive. Thai authorities have buried these contaminated durians at the plant quarantine office at Laem Chabang and Aranyaprathet border checkpoints, with a total value exceeding 12 million Thai baht (approximately 1.57 million ringgit).

This incident has triggered a crisis in Thailand's durian export industry. In January, Chinese customs suspended the import of Thai durian and required all Thai durian exports to be accompanied by a testing report to confirm that it does not contain gold amine O and cadmium. The Thai authorities subsequently took countermeasures, and the General Administration of Customs of China resumed the import of durian from Thailand in late January. However, this incident has had a serious impact on Thailand's durian export industry.

According to reports, China has refused to accept about 100 containers of durians, which have been transported back and forth for too long and the fruits are already over ripe. They can only be sold at a low price in the Thai market. The price of durian plummeted from 230 baht to 240 baht per kilogram (approximately 30 ringgit to 31 ringgit and 45 sen) to 110 baht to 120 baht per kilogram (approximately 14 ringgit to 15 ringgit and 80 sen), causing huge losses to the industry.

The Thai Department of Agriculture stated that it is investigating the specific reasons for the contamination of durian and will add stricter regulations to the durian export manual to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The Thai government has also implemented the "Four Nos" measures, which prohibit immature durians, pest infestations, false declarations, and the use of banned chemicals, ensuring that government officials, businesses, markets, farmers, and inspectors follow uniform standards.

This incident not only exposed the loopholes in quality control of Thailand's durian export industry, but also had a negative impact on the international reputation of Thailand's durian. Durian is one of Thailand's important export agricultural products, especially in the Chinese market where there is a huge demand for Thai durian. This incident may lead to a decrease in Chinese consumers' trust in Thai durian, which in turn may affect future exports.