Not Just Frozen: Fresh Malaysian Durians Go On Sale In China For The First Time Ever

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According to a statement by the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, Malaysia's very first fresh durian shipment to China arrived at Zhengzhou Cargo Airport on Monday, 25 August.

The arrival of the fresh durians in China was celebrated with a reception attended by Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, Henan Province Executive Vice Governor Sun Shougang, and Zhongyu Aviation Group General Manager Liu Jianmin.

The initial shipment consists of 40 tonnes of various durians, including Musang King, Black Thorn, D24, and IOI. These will be distributed to over 1,000 supermarkets across the six Chinese provinces.

The agreement was signed by Mohamad and China's General Administration of Customs Minister Yu Jianhua in Putrajaya on 19 June.

Previously, only frozen whole fruit and pulp, paste, and durian agrofood products were permitted for export from Malaysia to China.

"This expanded access to fresh durians will allow local entrepreneurs to fully explore the Chinese market, increasing their income," said the ministry.

"It was the highest value ever recorded for durian exports to China," it said.

In 2022, Malaysia's total durian exports reached a record value of RM1.14 billion.

Durian was the leading contributor to the country's fruit export value that year, accounting for 58.6% of the total fruit export value of RM2.01 billion.

Given the encouraging performance of Malaysia's durian export values from 2018 to 2022, the ministry expects the export value of durians to reach RM1.8 billion by 2030.