MANILA, Philippines — Whenever we have the chance to visit Thailand, we always try our best to revisit the famous Talad Thai market, about an hour’s drive from the heart of Bangkok.

Talad Thai is a huge farmers’ market where the farm produce from various parts of the country are brought for wholesale distribution. These are usually sold by the cartons or crates but one can always manage to buy a few kilos if only to taste as many varieties as possible.

The market which was put up by a private individual (he is now gone but his monument stands at the entrance) who saw the wisdom of making available in big quantities the different fruits and other products of farmers. It works fine for the farmers because they have a huge outlet for their produce. It encourages them to produce fruits and other crops in commercial scale. It also works fine for the traders from different towns and cities because they can source their requirements from just one place.

We visited the place on May 31 with a lady who everybody calls “Jum” as our guide and interpreter. Jum is a dairy farmer who drives her own SUV and who has many friends from the Philippines. Her full name is Supaksiri Phokunakorn.

And what did we see at Talad Thai this time? The first fruit that caught our interest is what they call Mafai. We have been to Talad Thai several times in the past but this is the first time that we encountered this fruit. It could be a minor fruit but it is interesting enough for introduction in the Philippines.

Mafai comes in clusters. The fruits are a bit bigger than that of longan. The ripe fruit is yellow orange and has a smooth skin. Inside the fruit are three or four thin seeds which are coated with whitish flesh. The flesh is nice to eat because it is sweetish. It has a nice flavor.

If you are a lover of durian, this is the time to visit Thailand. The fruits are overflowing in the market and you can have them cheap. A half-kilo packed in styropor without shell can be had for Bt40 or P56 in Philippine money.

One thing we learned is that not all Thais love to eat durian. The Thai ambassador to the Philippines, Ambassador Prasas Prasasvinitchai who accompanied our group throughout our four-day trip (except at Talad Thai) confessed that he does not like to eat durian. The smell offends him. And he said that King Rama VII had instructions to his men never to bring durian to the Royal Palace.

Of course most Thais do love to eat durian as well as to produce the same. Durian is a major fruit export of the country. Fruits are shipped to Singapore, Hongkong, Taiwan, Japan and even to the United States where they command very high prices.

Longkong, the Thai variety of lanzones, is also in season at this time of the year. At Talad Thai, the fruit is very cheap. One kilo of loose fruits can be had for Bt40 or R56 in Philippine money. The ones in bunches can be had for Bt50 or R70 per kilo. That is the same as the ones being sold in Manila for P300 to P350 per kilo.

Another fruit that is fairly cheap during our visit is the mangosteen which is very expensive in Manila and in Ho Chi Minh City during our visit there last April. At the Talad Thai market the small fruits could be had for as low as Bt38 per kilo. The bigger fruits are being sold at Bt50 per kilo. We prefer the cheaper smaller fruits because most of them are seedless, and they are very sweet.

Atis fruits in Thailand are big and fleshy. They are abundant in the market at this time. They are, however, more expensive than the longkong and mangosteen. The going price during our visit was Bt80 per kilo. That’s still more reasonable than the prices in Manila considering the quality of the fruits. They are very big and fleshy.

Also plentiful at this time of the year at the Talad Thai market is pummelo. There are several varieties available in big quantities. They are sweet and juicy.

Jackfruit is also in season. The fruits are not yet ripe but they are already mature. Most of them seem to have minimal latex.

During our trip to Thailand, we tasted a very refreshing juice drink. This is the sweet corn juice which is now being sold in firm plastic containers. This is one juice drink that local entrepreneurs in the Philippines should look into. It could be a money maker.