In Thailand, over 20,000 units of the Taiwan dryer type are currently used for longan drying and operations continue to be afflicted by high product variability and energy consumption season after season. The situation at hand demands practical solutions for quick implementation. With improved longan drying, product losses due to inadequate drying and subsequent spoilage can be minimized. Also, increases in efficiency will reduce operating costs, benefiting not only current operations, but will also allow more farmers to enter the drying business. With increased profitability, smaller operations become economically feasible, allowing farmers with less access to credit to setup drying operations of their own, further advancing the local longan drying industry.Overall, two simultaneous approaches should be taken to remediate the problems associated with current longan drying practices. First, investigations should be carried out to evaluate simple modifications which can increase drying uniformity and energy efficiency of the Taiwan dryer. Secondly, the possibility for integrating renewable energy sources should be explored, mainly biomass as fuel for combustion energy and solar roof collectors for preheating of drying air. With this approach, it is believed the profitability and sustainability of current longan drying operations in northern Thailand using the Taiwan type dryer can be ensured.