Industry players have dismissed China’s efforts to cultivate the thorny delight to meet its domestic demand.

They have pointed out that soil quality and climate constraints make it difficult for the Chinese to produce durians of the same quality as that in Malaysia.

Apart from Malaysia, the countries that have the most conducive climatic conditions for durian cultivation are Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

There is no doubt that China is the world’s largest consumer of durians today.

Last year, it imported 825,000 tonnes of the fruit, worth US$4.03 billion (RM17.73 billion), according to data provided by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products (CFNA).

That has prompted many attempts to cultivate the fruit to meet its huge domestic demand.

State broadcaster China Central Television recently reported that Hainan was expecting its maiden harvest of durians in June.

Hainan, China’s southernmost province, has a climate that is closest to that of the tropics, but yields are not likely to be substantial.

According to initial estimates, the province is expected to produce 2,450 tonnes of the fruit, but Feng Xuejie, director of the Institute of Tropical Fruit Trees at the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said a more realistic figure is about 50 tonnes.

That would account for only about 0.005% of all the durians that is expected to be consumed in China this year.

Durian Academy founder Lim Chin Khee, a fruits cultivation expert who has been helping Chinese farmers in their durian project, told FMT Business that apart from the poor climatic conditions, there is also too little land dedicated to the crop in China to make an impact.

For the record, farmers in Hainan have been trying to cultivate durians since the 1950s, according to the South China Morning Post.

“Everyone is worried that the price will crash (as a result of China producing their own fruits). Actually, we should be more worried about Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand,” Lim said.

Thailand is way ahead of the pack in durian production and export. It accounts for 96% of all durians imported by China, but Malaysia prides itself as the producer of higher quality varieties.

The proof is in the pudding

In the case of durians, the taste, texture and colour of the flesh, apart from soil quality and climate, set the best apart from the rest.

Thai durians are plucked from the tree at 85% maturity unlike in Malaysia where they drop from the tree when fully ripened, which durian aficionados claim makes it tastier.

Thailand exports both fresh and frozen durians to China whereas Malaysia only exports frozen durians.

Lim said attempts have been made in other countries to replicate the quality and flavour of durians cultivated in the tropics, such as the Musang King variant that Malaysia is known for.

But the success rate has been less than impressive. “It is difficult to replicate the flavour of the fruit grown in this region,” he added.

The challenges ahead 

It’s not all smooth sailing, though. For instance, higher quality comes at a cost.

In Malaysia, the more traditional cultivation method requires a huge labour force, leading to higher production cost.

Given that Malaysian durians are exported frozen, the cold chain transport for the fruit also makes it more expensive in the market.

However, Lim is not overly concerned. “(Our) production cost may be higher but in terms of producing quality fruits, we are still better,” he said.

He said there is a huge potential for growth in the Chinese market, which is still largely untapped by Malaysia.

Edwyn Chia, secretary-general of the Malaysian International Durian Industry Development Association (Midida) told FMT Business that the industry grows by around 10% a year.

Midida focuses on supporting local growers through marketing, technique improvement as well as research and development.

In 2021, Malaysia exported 20,900 metric tonnes of durians as whole fruits or in pulp or paste form, for a total of RM1.086 billion.

Frozen whole fruits accounted for the lion’s share of exports, which amounted to an export value of around RM630 million.

The way forward 

Lim believes a combination of strong marketing and the use of new technology for cultivation can help to reduce costs and therefore strengthen Malaysia’s position in the market.

He said exporting durians fresh rather than frozen could also put Malaysia in an advantageous position.

However Chia and DKing managing director Simon Chin cautioned against competing with Thailand in the fresh fruit market. DKing is a durian exporting company.

Chin pointed out that Thai growers have begun to cultivate the popular Musang King variant and they are likely to bear fruits in two to three years.

Malaysia will have to adopt the Thai practice of harvesting the fruit before it fully ripens to extend its shelf life if it chooses to continue exporting the variant.

“If this happens, (our) Musang King will be no different from that of the Thai’s,” Chin said.

“Ours is the Rolls Royce among the durian species of the world, so we have to project our fruit that way,” he added.