Thailand restriction leaves 20,000 tonnes of Myanmar avocados without a market
Myanmar growers are seeking buyers for about 20,000 tonnes of avocados after Thailand withheld import authorization while a pest risk assessment remains incomplete. The industry is promoting domestic consumption and pursuing access to China and four other foreign markets.
Thai access remains blocked
About 20,000 tonnes of Myanmar avocados face an uncertain market after Thailand stopped them from entering the country, Democratic Voice of Burma reported, citing the Myanmar Avocado Producer and Exporter Association, known as MAVO. Thailand has been the principal foreign destination for the fruit, leaving growers with limited alternatives as the 2026-2027 avocado season begins.
According to a MAVO official quoted by DVB, Thailand has withheld import authorization because its pest risk assessment, or PRA, has not been completed. The official warned that more than 20,000 tonnes normally sent to Thailand could accumulate in Myanmar if other buyers are not found. Such a surplus would put downward pressure on domestic prices and increase growers’ losses.
The obstacle concerns formal phytosanitary market access rather than weak demand alone. A PRA allows an importing country to identify plant-health threats and set conditions intended to prevent pests from entering with agricultural shipments. Without Thailand’s approval, Myanmar exporters cannot rely on their established outlet during the current harvest.
Market-access process has stalled
Myanmar submitted Technical Market Access Information to Thailand in 2023 and sought further coordination on the PRA required for official avocado exports. DVB reported that Thailand’s National Plant Protection Organization, or NPPO, had not responded. The source did not provide a timetable for completing the assessment or indicate when shipments might resume.
The lack of a defined approval schedule raises the commercial risk for a perishable crop. Growers and traders must find buyers during the season, while delays can weaken their negotiating position and increase the volume competing in the domestic market. The pressure is concentrated among producers that had depended on Thailand rather than maintaining several export destinations.
Domestic campaign and alternative markets
MAVO plans campaigns to increase domestic avocado consumption for the roughly 20,000 tonnes that cannot be shipped to Thailand. This may absorb part of the crop, but the association’s warning indicates that local demand alone may not prevent oversupply, lower prices and losses for farmers.
The industry is also seeking authorization to export to China. Work is under way to obtain certification from China’s General Administration of Customs, or GACC, in time for the current season. Certification would provide access to another large neighboring market, although the source did not say whether approval was expected before the affected fruit must be sold.
Myanmar exporters are additionally considering India, Singapore, Malaysia and Russia. These markets could reduce reliance on Thailand over time, but each requires suitable market access, logistics and commercial buyers. For the current season, the immediate issue is whether domestic promotion and new destinations can absorb a volume exceeding 20,000 tonnes before falling prices transfer most of the cost of Thailand’s restriction to growers.
