The 1,035-kilometer high-speed rail link is transforming Laos. In addition to enhancing the attractiveness of the Chinese market, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia are also interested in economic and transportation links with Laos.
Recently, Thailand, which previously transported its own goods to the Chinese market by sea, now has many goods, including durians and many other agricultural products. Which is also transported via railway from Yunnan to Vientiane, Laos. Meanwhile, Vietnamese investors are now flocking to Laos to invest in agriculture and other industrial production to export to China because of the high-speed railway.
Only durian, which has a potential value of about $7 billion in the Chinese market per year and is currently dominated by Thailand and Vietnam, has been targeted by Laos to boost exports, with the expectation that by 2026, Laos will be able to export high-quality durian to China.
The Laotian Times reported that Laos is preparing to supply about 400 tons of high-quality durian to both domestic and foreign markets, especially China. Elavan Ladpakdee, a representative of the Lao Durian Trading Company, claimed that the country currently has only 269 hectares of durian cultivation, but plans to expand by thousands of hectares.
According to the Vientiane Times newspaper, authorities in Attapeu province recently granted concessions to three Lao companies, allowing them to plant durian on hundreds of hectares of land. It is part of a broader government effort to promote commercial fruit growing.
The move could support Laos’ ambitions to become a supplier of durian to neighboring China, where investors are looking to expand durian plantations in Laos so that more of the fruit can be grown and sold to China to help meet rising demand.
According to the same source, currently In addition to local companies, companies from China and Vietnam are also interested in agricultural projects in Laos, mostly looking for a market to supply to China.
For Cambodia, although we have not yet been able to find figures on the exchange of goods with China through Laos, there are some reports that many Chinese goods have gradually flowed into Cambodia through Laos. Therefore, in the future, Cambodia is likely to increase its dependence on Laos to export to China via Laos, especially to Yunnan Province, which is known to have a population of approximately 47 million.
