According to HSBC, the Chinese market accounted for 91% of the world's durian demand in the past two years. Last year, the country imported 825,000 tons of durian, about four times more than in 2017.
The majority of durian sold in the Chinese market is imported from Southeast Asia, which is seen as a boost to the booming China-ASEAN trade relationship.
With a combined population of more than 2 billion people, China and ASEAN countries have the potential to create a huge market as the regional economy continues to expand and integrate.
Commodity flows in this regional market continue to benefit from the duty-free policy and expanded market access within the framework of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
“A decade ago, ASEAN fruits such as durian, mangosteen and golden coconut were rare in China, but now they can be seen at fruit stalls in most major Chinese cities at increasingly affordable prices,” said Wang Zhengbo, chairman of a fruit company in Guangxi.
Durian in China has been mainly imported from Thailand and Malaysia. The fruit is very expensive due to limited supply. Last year, durian from Vietnam, known for its longer harvest season and lower prices, entered the billion-people market under the RCEP framework. Then, durian from the Philippines also appeared in January this year.
In the wave of importing Vietnamese durian, Mr. Wang's company last year signed contracts with durian farms in Vietnam with a total area of nearly 3,000 hectares.
“We plan to import more than 3,000 containers, equivalent to 60,000 tons of Vietnamese durian this year to serve the needs of the Chinese market,” said the company leader.
Vietnam earned more than $500 million from durian exports in the first five months of the year, up 18 times from a year ago. The durian export volume was more than 65,000 tonnes during the period, with China buying 97% of the shipments.
Wong Kok Loong from Malaysia has been following China’s durian craze closely. The entrepreneur started attending the China-ASEAN Expo in 2015 to sell durian cakes and candies. Seeing China’s e-commerce boom in recent years, he opened stores on the country’s leading e-commerce platforms such as JD.com and Tmall.
“Now my durian products have expanded from 4 varieties to more than 80 varieties, including durian custard rolls and durian cheese,” he shared.
China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 4.6% in August after three months of slowdown, indicating improved consumer sentiment as the country's economy recovers.
According to China's Ministry of Commerce, China-ASEAN trade has increased from more than $100 billion in 2004 to $975.3 billion in 2022. The two sides have been each other's largest trading partners for three consecutive years.
Zhang Jianping - Deputy Director of the China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation - assessed: "The world economic context is recovering slowly, while China-ASEAN trade cooperation still maintains strong growth, which is significant for both the region and the world."
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