GUANGZHOU / China, 2 July 2025: China-based agricultural drone manufacturer XAG is banking on booming fruit exports and a new generation of tech-oriented young farmers to fuel its Southeast Asian expansion.
Seeing striking parallels between its home market and the region’s agricultural systems, XAG has doubled down on Southeast Asia, a key growth focus over the coming years. Vietnam and Thailand are top priorities, with XAG courting smallholder fruit growers and recruiting young drone pilots.
“The SEA region is one of our strategic market focuses now, and even in the next few years,” said Olivia Zhou, branding manager at XAG. “We’ve been here since 2019, and we see incredible interest from farmers and the youth. Regulatory frameworks here also help us expand faster compared to Europe or North America.”
Fruit farming has emerged as a prime market. Smallholders growing high-value crops like durians are seeing higher incomes, enabling them to invest in high-tech spraying drones. XAG’s P150 drone, for example, uses its RevoSpray system to reduce water consumption from 3,000 liters to 800 liters per spray, cutting the application time from two days to just three hours.
Vietnam’s durian exports have exploded from $400 million in 2019 to $3.3 billion in 2024, creating fertile ground for XAG’s push. Farmers there say drone spraying helps reduce labor, save resources, and boost yields.
Recognizing cost sensitivity among smallholder farmers, XAG has made drone services central to its regional strategy, allowing farmers to first hire drone pilots before committing to purchasing the equipment themselves.
“At the beginning, service is always the best way to approach smallholder farmers,” said Justin Gong, co-founder and vice president of XAG. “They are eager to adopt technology but price is a barrier, so we help them start with service.”
XAG has further strengthened its Southeast Asia footprint by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with major agricultural players Chia Tai and Yanmar to develop smart farming solutions in Thailand. It also launched an authorized service center in Thailand in May to provide repair and maintenance support for drones and related smart-farming tools.
With sights now on countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia — where oil palm plantations could benefit from precision farming — XAG is betting that the mix of higher crop values, youthful tech enthusiasm, and growing demand for climate-smart solutions will help cement its presence in the Southeast Asian market.
Image credit: xa.com
