Agricultural, forestry and fishery market report of Department of Import and Export (Ministry of Industry and Trade) citing Producereport.com, Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security said that export of fresh durian to China will begin in 2024.
Start of durian exports will coincide with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, scheduled to be held on May 31, 2024.
The statement was made after General Administration of Customs of China and Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of Malaysia signed a 6-point agreement on the country's export of fresh durian to China in October 2023.
Chinese side has expressed its willingness to accelerate risk assessment of this fruit and both sides have agreed to cooperate in promoting quarantine inspection process.
Accordingly, only fully ripe durians are exported to China to ensure the best taste for Chinese consumers. However, this can pose certain transportation challenges due to shorter shelf life of ripe durian.
Members of durian industry and Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute are currently evaluating different modes of transport, including air and sea freight. According to estimates, durian can arrive in China within 48 hours after being harvested at the farm if transported by air.
Notably, considering presence of Thai and Vietnamese fresh durians in Chinese market, Malaysian experts also proposed creating a Malaysian durian logo to distinguish the country's Musang King durian from fruits with originate from elsewhere.
In 2023, Malaysia produced 455,458 tons of durian, 10% of which is transported frozen to China, Hong Kong (China) and Singapore markets. Malaysia has exported frozen durian products to China since 2011 and frozen whole durian since May 2019.
Will Malaysia's export of fresh durian to the Chinese market have an impact on Vietnam's durian industry, when this market is Vietnam's main export destination in 2023?
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - said that by 2023, durian export turnover to the Chinese market has reached more than 2 billion USD. Signing of the Protocol has helped Vietnam's durian become a billion-dollar industry and achieve record growth.
“We have only been exporting fresh durian to Chinese market for more than a year and have already achieved a turnover nearly half that of Thailand, while Thailand exports both fresh and frozen durian. Therefore, room for Vietnamese durian in the Chinese market is still very large," Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen said and at the same time expecting that China would allow more frozen durian to be imported from Vietnam.
Thailand used to be an exporter that completely supplied durian to the Chinese market but Thailand's durian market share has decreased to 95% in 2022, due to China importing durian from Vietnam with a dominant market share of 5%. As of May 10, 2023, Thailand's durian market share decreased to 70% and Vietnam's durian market share increased to 30%. And maybe Malaysian fresh durian will continue to divide the market share.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn