evidence: At this stage, there is some potential for deciduous fruit growing in the highlands of Thailand. This is due to the increasing demand for these fruits in the country. The reduction in importation of these deciduous fruits in order to save foreign exchange during the economic crisis currently faced by the country has also encouraged their production. The major drawback facing deciduous fruit production development in Thailand is the scarcity of land in the highlands as all the suitable land areas are under governmental control in order to preserve the watershed forest area. The second factor of importance is the unskilled nature of hill tribe growers and the difficulty to train them. This hinders the introduction of modern production technologies into the area. [...] The problems facing the development of deciduous fruits in Thailand are briefly outlined as: a) scarcity of land at the altitude of 1,000 m.a.s.l. and above which can provide sufficient chilling hours for the existing cultivars; b) scarcity of suitable species of high quality fruits that can be productive in the area; c) difficulties in educating hill tribe growers; d) people from the lowland are prohibited to venture into the hilly areas and cultivate the land there; and e) insufficient water resources to irrigate the deciduous fruit orchards.