Recently, a great number of people from Paya Meng Rai and Khun Tan county in Chiang Rai have expressed their discontent with the Chinese companies that are growing bananas in Thailand. The locals explain that the Chinese are renting an area of 2700 rai (432 million square meter), but the majority of the bananas grown there are exported back to China.
Thai banana farmers after harvesting
The Chinese are using water from a local river to irrigate their lands, which has almost gone dry now, leaving the locals without any water. The locals also state that, previously, Chinese companies rented another area of 250,000 rai (400 million square meters) in Laos to grow bananas, where they also did not leave a good impression. Not only did they take away the livelihood of many locals, they also used a lot of pesticides, that severely polluted the local river and environment.
Banana trees
Xie Rongren, vice chairman of the Thai Charoen Pokphand Group, explains his own vision: the Thai population should not be opposed to the Chinese coming to Thailand to grow bananas. Apart from bringing capital, they also bring employment for the locals, which is good for both the local government and the farmers. Therefore, we should not resist them. The fact that many Chinese people are coming to Thailand shows that the demand for bananas on the Chinese market is very high. This is a good opportunity for Thailand.
Source: Irrigation Network