Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said through the cooperation between the ministry and the government of Guanxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a three-day festival promoting Malaysian durians would be held in Nanning, China, from Oct 19 to 21.

“We have obtained special approval from the authorities there to export durians for the festival, which is the first of its kind in China,” he told reporters after officiating the “Road To Nanning Durian Festival 2017” workshop here today.

He said the Malaysian government would strive to obtain the protocol and agreement from China so Malaysia could export unprocessed durians to their country.

“Currently, Malaysia is only allowed to export processed or frozen durians to China, while fresh durians go through a third country like Hong Kong or Thailand prior to entering China,” he said.

Apart from two containers of durians, over 200 durian-based products like coffee, ice-cream and pancakes would also be featured at the festival, he said.

“The coming festival in China is an important event for Malaysia as it is the window of opportunity for local durian industry players to explore potential business opportunities in China, where durians command a higher price,” he said.