Manop Kanthakat is a happy man. The longan farmer from Chiang Rai's Mae Chan district has just sealed a deal to sell the entire harvest from his orchard to a dried fruit company in China.
'Life has been a struggle, but things are looking up,' he says. 'In the past, every year after the harvest, my family would help me sell the fruit at a stall on the highway. We'd be up at 4am, and work until after midnight. But this new deal means a chance to make some real money.'
The farmer says he is thinking about buying more property to expand his operation and, if things go well, he might even set up a fruit-preserving business.
Similar deals are being struck all around this sleepy northernmost province of Thailand, formerly famous chiefly for being part of the notorious drug hub, the Golden Triangle.
Investment from China is now pouring into Chiang Rai, following the launch of a free-trade area pact between the two countries covering fruit and vegetables, and the conclusion of a controversial Chinese-led operation to blast underwater rocks and reefs in the Mekong River to let in large ships. 'The whole place is buzzing,' says Mr Manop. 'Deals are being done every day. People are very optimistic. I would say within five years, you won't recognise Chiang Rai, it's going to be an important trading centre.'
That's a sentiment shared by the Thai government, which is preparing to inject billions of baht into infrastructure projects.
