Tops, Central Food Hall and FamilyMart under Central Retail respond to the policy of Department of Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce, to leverage the mango with sticky rice trend. “FRUITS-TIVAL” campaign will be held at its stores nationwide, with a new highlight product, ready-to-eat durian pod at an affordable price. There will be a special event to welcome the reopening of the country, Thailand’s Amazing Durian & Fruit Fest 2022 (The Original!), inviting consumers to enjoy Thai fruits in order to help ease the problems of fruit farmers in the East as they face price drops. Thai consumers can enjoy export-grade fruits at affordable prices. The company also plans to purchase 100% more fruits from 1,000 farmer groups nationwide.

Mr.Stephane Coum, CEO of Central Food Retail under Central Retail, said, “We estimate that there will be 1.19 million tons of durian, mangosteen, rambutan and longan from Rayong, Chantaburi and Trat, a 32% increase from the previous year (source: Office of Agricultural Economics, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives). We are ready to manage a higher amount of fruits available in the market due to favorable weather, resulting in more mangosteen, rambutan and durian being available especially in May which is the durian season. At the moment, Thailand cannot fully resume durian export to China, so we have to find a way to distribute these fruits to local consumers. Our company will increase our fruit purchase by 100% from more than 1,000 groups of local farmers nationwide such as Trat Farmers Cooperatives, Chantaburi Farmer Group, Pattawee Model (organic fruits), and more.

We will also launch the “FRUITS-TIVAL” campaign to stimulate local fruit consumption in order to help local farmers during April 29 - June 30, 2022 at all our stores. The highlight is premium export-grade Thai fruits at affordable prices, especially durian, known as the King of Fruits. Premium Monthong durian, weighed by pulp only, is sold at 399 baht for a 500g pack, and 780 baht for a 1kg pack, available at Tops market, Tops SUPERSTORE, Central Food Hall, Tops Online, Personal Shopper, and delivery partner app Grab.

First time in convenience store, customers can enjoy a single premium Monthong durian aril with thick pulp and small seeds, so they do not have to buy a whole durian. This is great for those who only want a small amount. The single durian aril is priced at 75 baht each, available at participating Tops daily and FamilyMart.

After three years, the biggest event for durian lovers returns once again with the original durian buffet, Thailand’s Amazing Durian & Fruit Fest 2022 (The Original!) during May 18-22, 2022 at the square in front of centralwOlrd. Tickets can be pre-ordered at a special price, from originally 479 baht, via Hungry Hub >>> https://bit.ly/HHDurianBuffet at only 429 baht each. When purchasing two or more, the price is only 399 baht each. Enjoy the best Monthong durian as well as other fruity treats such as mango with sticky rice, rambutan, mangosteen, coconut, Japanese melon, watermelon, mango with sweet fish sauce, and coconut ice cream.

We focus on the quality of the fruits that we offer to our customers to make sure they can enjoy the best seasonal fruits. Our teams and experts have visited durian orchards in Rayong, Chantaburi and Trat to give advice and choose durian orchards with durian trees older than 10 years old so that the fruits are high in quality with thin husk, thick pulp, and small seeds. We also have GAP in place to ensure safety and traceability. The harvest is done only when the fruits are extremely ripe (an average of 120 days after the flowers bloom, and before the harvest, the quality is checked by determining the percentage of the dry weight, with the minimum set at 35%) following the Quality at Heart standards. This is to ensure that the durian we choose is smooth, sweet, and delicious. We take care of every step of the process, and our store staff has been trained as Khun Durian to serve as durian experts to help our customers.”

“We are confident that the FRUITS-TIVAL campaign and Thailand’s Amazing Durian & Fruit Fest 2022 (The Original!), as well as our marketing and distribution to all Tops, Central Food Hall and FamilyMart, will help our local farmers and stimulate local consumption of fruits following the policy to manage Thai fruit supplies. It is an integration of the private sector to best benefit fruit farmers and local consumers, following Central Retail’s commitment to improve the quality of life and generate income and job opportunities sustainably for Thai farmers,” concluded Stephane.

For more details, visit www.tops.co.th, Facebook TopsThailand, Central Food Hall, FamilyMartThailand and LINE @TopsThailand, @ FamilyMartThailand.