Thai durian farmers reap gains from smart solutions

Global appeal

Thanachot Nontakatrakool, an economics researcher at Bangkok Bank, said once confined to Southeast Asian palates, durian is now crossing borders and mindsets. "In the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, it is showing up in fusion desserts, high-end grocers, and even as limited-edition flavors in global food chains," he said.

As Thai exporters are keen to maintain their reputation for quality durian in the international market, major exporters are also seeking to improve the whole production chain via innovation, aimed at meeting international standards.

Since 2023, Thailand agri-food company CP Group has collaborated with the Agricultural Research Development Agency and Chinese tech giant Huawei Cloud to develop quality inspection systems combining infrared sensors and cloud-based artificial intelligence.

"Harvested durians should go through inspection," said Ronnarit Rittiron, head of the Laboratory Department of Food Engineering Faculty at Kasetsart University in Bangkok. "The traditional method is for a skilled evaluator to lightly tap on the fruit with a special stick, with the sound indicating whether it is ripe and of suitable quality.

"Errors can and do occur, especially as many inspectors are new to the job," said Ronnarit, who is a member of the team that developed the smart solution based on Huawei's AI technology.

The solution involves gun-shaped sensors that emit near-infrared radiation when pointed at the fruit's skin. The collected data is uploaded to the cloud, where artificial intelligence determines whether the fruit is ready to be cut and sold. The process does not ruin the flesh inside.

"We now manage to achieve 80 percent accuracy. And the accuracy will rise as more data is collected," said Jiang Yuejun, chief technology officer at CP Group.

"For the smart agriculture industry, we expect AI to play a major role with the internet of things, robotics, drones and satellites," he said.

"Joining hands with Chinese tech giants such as Huawei, we provide a digital transformation of the agricultural industry, which will help more farmers and the industry as a whole," he added.