PHNOM PENH (BERNAMA) – Durian may be the most off-putting fruit on earth, yet it stands as the best-selling commodity, rivalling traditional cash crops that farmers have been planting for decades.
Despite its unpopular smell and spiky thorns, durian has become a significant export product in Indochina economies – Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Local farmers are now competing to capture the rapidly growing Chinese market, which imported nearly MYR200 billion (USD46.7 billion) worth of fresh durians, according to the General Administration of Customs, making China the world’s largest buyer of this fruit.
Durian is certainly living up to its nickname the ‘king of fruits’ as the entry of new varieties is pushing once-popular cash crops such as cashew nuts, peanuts, pepper and sugarcane into the back seat.
Thanks to the Chinese consumers who have developed a new liking for the delicious yellow creamy fleshy fruit that traders once struggled to sell in their local markets, exporting was a distant dream.
Billion-dollar export figures are staggering with Vietnam and Thailand leading the pack as major growers in the region.
“By the end of September 2024, Vietnam’s durian export turnover reached a record USD2.7 billion (MYR11.6 billion).
“In contrast, in the first eight months of this year, Vietnam spent nearly USD9 million (MYR38.7 million) to import durians from Thailand and Malaysia.
“This represents a dramatic increase in durian import turnover, which rose nearly 11.6 times compared to the same period in 2023,” Hanoi-based Dezan Shira and Associates analyst Vu Nguyen Hanh told Bernama in an email interview. HSBC Bank forecast last year that the demand for durians could rise by up to 400 per cent annually, primarily driven by the growing popularity of durians among China’s 1.4 billion people.
Thailand is poised to remain the main exporter to China worth nearly MYR11.9 billion (USD2.76 billion) due to varieties like Monthong that give a creamy texture. However, Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association is confident that its farmers could export durians worth nearly MYR14 billion (USD3.5 billion) in 2024.
Fresh and frozen durian grown in Vietnam is exported to 22 countries with China being its main market.
Competition is rising. Cambodia and Laos are holding high-level talks with Chinese investors to woo investments and technology to develop durian farms in their respective countries to explore international markets.
