Thai fruit through the year

Many of Thailand's best-known fruits reach their main harvest between March and September. Mango, lychee, durian, mangosteen and rambutan come in the hot months, and longan, longkong and pomelo follow in the rains. The exact month depends on the region, the variety and the year, so any calendar is a guide and not a promise.

The hot months, March to June

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE) says mangoes reach the market in large volumes from about March to June each year. Its 2015 production calendar marks the main mango harvest in March and April and lychee in April and May.

For durian, DOAE gives a normal season of about April to September. Durian from the east runs from April to June and is heaviest in May. In its 2023 forecast for the eastern provinces of Chanthaburi, Rayong and Trat, DOAE expected the busiest month to be April for durian and mangosteen and May for rambutan. The 2015 calendar also shows rambutan harvested in May and June.

The rainy months, July to October

Southern durian comes later, from July to September, according to DOAE. For longan, DOAE's 2021 plan for the north expected fruit to reach the market from June to September. The 2015 calendar marks the main longan harvest in July and August, pomelo in August and September, and rose apple from June to September. Its 2023 forecast put the busiest month for longkong in the east at July.

Some fruits are less tied to a season. The 2015 calendar shows jackfruit harvested in most months of the year. It also lists a second pomelo pattern, a repeat-bearing crop harvested in March and April, alongside the main August to September crop.

DOAE's reports from 2021 show how a season is tracked in practice. In the north, DOAE reported the lychee harvest finished by early July, at 30,716 tonnes. In the south, it reported that the most rambutan reached the market between 28 May and 8 June, and that by early July less than half of the longkong crop had been harvested.

Why the months move

The same fruit appears in different months in different sources, and the reasons are worth knowing.

Region. DOAE's own figures show durian from the east in April to June and from the south in July to September.
Year. DOAE's eastern figures for 2023 were a forecast. Weather and flowering change the real timing from year to year.
Source. The 2015 calendar marks mangosteen harvest in July and August, while the 2023 forecast for the east puts the busiest month in April. The two sources describe different years and may describe different places.
Off-season production. DOAE notes that some growers produce durian outside the normal season. In the east, harvest can start in February and March, and in the south in December to February. This takes planning and knowledge of variety and tree age. The 2015 calendar also has separate off-season rows for longan and mango, with harvests marked around January and February and around December and January.

A calendar is therefore best read as a pattern and not as a date.

In short

Main harvests for many Thai fruits fall between March and September.
Mango is mainly March to June, rambutan May to June, and longan roughly June to September, according to DOAE sources.
Durian from the east comes April to June and from the south July to September.
Region, variety and year change the timing, and off-season production exists for some fruits, so months in any calendar are approximate.