Quality Control
For the EU market, where normally the final packing is done in the field at Wieng Kaen, some exporter also send their staff for the purchasing process and quality control of the pomelo before export. This way the exporter intends to ensure the consistency of the product with quality and grading requirements before shipment.
DOMESTIC TRADERS
There are more than 100 domestic traders that collect off-grade or lower grade pomelo for the domestic wholesale markets. They usually establish a long-term relationship with traders/middlemen and have a verbal agreement to buy all of their low-grade supply at an agreed upon price. These transporters have no cold storage trucks and there is an estimated loss of 20% (up to 30-50% in summer) due to heat and poor handling in transit at this stage. There are no traceability or monitoring systems in place for these actors in the chain. They will likely be left out or decrease in number as supermarkets replace traditional local market structures also in Thailand.
DOMESTIC WHOLESALE MARKETS
There are four main wholesale markets in the Bangkok area that service smaller local retail outlets as well as wholesale markets in other cities. These markets receive lower grade produce from domestic traders. As the price is very low to begin with (as low as 1/20 of that of export grades), profit margins are quite low for this segment of the chain.
RETAIL OUTLETS
There are two types of domestic retail outlets. One covers the local retail outlets that include smaller markets, vendor stalls within the wholesale markets, restaurants and hotels. Fruit vendors in smaller local wet markets will buy pomelo from bigger wholesale markets to include in their product range.
The second type of domestic retail outlet includes about ten larger retail companies operating supermarkets such as TOPS and hypermarkets such as Tesco Lotus, Carrefour and Macro. Most of these outlets are establishing traceability and safety requirements and so they usually deal with (already GAP certified) manufacturers directly as their suppliers. Standards depend on the outlet but still tend to be less strict and more flexible than international ones. Retailers normally sell pomelo in two forms - whole fruit and ready to eat (fresh cut).
International retailers include all kinds of outlets and follow country specific channels of distribution.