Malaysia is expected to start exporting its much-sought-after (and incredibly pungent) durian fruit to China very soon, according to various reports. China’s General Administration of Customs will visit Malaysia later this month for the relative review and evaluation.

 

After much anticipation, efforts to greenlight the exporting of Malaysian durian to China have recently made significant progress. Shen Zhiqin, Deputy Minister of the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, said that the General Administration of Customs (GACC) had visited to review and evaluate the local durian orchards, alongside their frozen and processing centres.

 

According to Shen Zhiqin, 67 durian orchards in Malaysia have submitted applications for the export of whole frozen durian to China. However, the relevant orchards must meet the five conditions laid out by the General Administration of Customs in China, including that the industry must obtain the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) accreditation issued by the Ministry of Health as well as the Good Agricultural Certification issued by the Ministry of Agriculture. The industry must also set some nets under the durian trees to prevent the fruit from falling. 

 

In addition, it is reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based industry in Malaysia has received some applications for durian processing from 18 plants, although only five of those already have the GMP certification.

 

Shen Zhiqin said that China’s General Administration of Customs would focus on the review and evaluation of those five processing plants.

 

Zhiqin pointed out that with the prospects of higher returns in mind, some palm oil farms in Malaysia have switched to plant durian, while other orchard-owners have upgraded from farming ordinary varieties to growing superior ones. It is estimated that the overall production of durian in Malaysia will increase in the next few years, so as to maintain supply for the domestic market in spite of upcoming exports of the fruit to China.

 

According to Shen Zhiqin, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Industry in Malaysia hopes to promote the domestic durian industry in order to attract more Chinese tourists, which would in turn have wider benefits for the country. 

 

The Malaysian Star Newspaper reported that the country's durian exports to China are expected to officially commence “soon”.