Longan production in Asia - United Nations in Indonesia

A large increase in area under longan cultivation during the period 1987 to 1997
was recorded in the three main longan growing provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong and
Fujian (Table 15).
Table 15. Increase in planted area of longan in the main longan
growing provinces in China
Year
Area
(ha)
Province
Guangxi Guangdong Fujian
Production Area Production Area
(metric (ha) (metric (ha)
ton)
ton)
Production
(metric
ton)
1987 9,200 22,400 8,700 21,800 22,600 37,300
1989 16,900 23,400 15,300 26,900 25,700 43,700
1991 27,300 25,200 23,600 32,200 40,600 63,300
1993 49,000 36,800 29,400 42,000 53,100 54,300
1995 121,300 118,600 75,700 76,000 66,400 86,400
1997 210,100 133,300 119,600 124,700 90,300 104,800
Source: Liu and Ma (2000).
There are over 400 cultivars of longan in China (Liu and Ma, 2000). Among these
cultivars 14 percent are early-maturing, 68 percent are mid-maturing, and 18 percent are
late-maturing. Common cultivars and their characteristics are described in Appendix 1.
Thailand
The production of longan in 1998 was about 238,000 metric tons with a planted
area of 411,504 ha (Subhadrabandhu and Yapwattanaphun, 2000a). There was an annual
increase in planted area from 1989 - 1998 (Table 16) attributed to the prospect of
exporting the fruits. Although there was an annual increase in planted area, the production
has not increased at the same pace as the planted area. Such a scenario is attributed to the
sensitivity of longan to the changing climatic conditions from year to year. Variable field
management has also accounted for the varying production in different years.
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