Malaysia eyes exporting more durian premium varieties to China

Malaysia's move to start exporting fresh durians to China is a big step of Malaysian farmers and businesses engaged in this industry.

It is expected to be a great opportunity to offer more premium varieties, aside from sought-after Musang King, to the largest consumer market for this tropical fruit.

Malaysia received the green light to export fresh durian to China in June, after Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations. Previously, it could only export durian products and frozen durians to the world's second largest economy.

In August, after meeting China’s stringent phytosanitary requirements, about 40 tons of fresh durians were successfully shipped over.

Malaysia is aiming to export almost $500 million in durians by 2030, according to the Bernama news agency. Demand for the delicacy has rapidly spiked among Chinese consumers in recent years. Malaysia exported $36.3 million worth of frozen durians to China in 2018. This rose seven-fold to $260 million in 2023.

Tan Sue Yee, CEO of Malaysian durian supplier Top Fruits, said fresh durian is a very new thing for consumers and there is a big demand from the China market. The biggest challenge is that fresh durian has a shorter shelf life, so the company needs to do it by air shipment.

For more than a decade, the company has been shipping frozen durians to China, which has become its biggest overseas market and accounts for about 60% of its total exports.

The chance to export fresh durians has opened doors to introduce more varieties to the Chinese market, Tan said, adding that it could also inspire more local entrepreneurs to invest in agribusiness, as well as encourage farmers to adopt better farming practices and improve the quality of their products.