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Ralph Jennings

Southeast Asian growers can now ship durians to China faster than before using a new cold-storage rail service linking Thailand, Laos and southwest China’s Yunnan province, slashing prices for the pungent fruit.
The first goods train laden with durians from Thailand – China’s biggest source of the fruit – began winding its way north through Laos to China over the weekend, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday.
More than 90 per cent of the world’s durian exports – worth about US$7.5 billion last year – reach China, where the odorous fruit is so highly prized that it is often gifted at formal events. A single durian weighing 6kg (13lbs) fetches up to 200 yuan (US$29) in the country.
China has been working to build a rail network connecting it with nations across Southeast Asia for years. The China-Laos railway has been operational since 2021, and the line has also been integrated with existing services to Thailand.
The new cold-storage rail connection – which features carriages chilled to 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) – runs from Thailand’s Laem Chabang Port via Laos to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, according to CCTV.
Trainloads of Thai durians will now reach Kunming each morning, with the service expected to transport more than 200,000 tonnes of the tropical fruit this year, People’s Daily reported. The journey to Kunming takes three days.
Thanks to the rail link, shipping Thai durians to Chengdu – a major city in China’s southwest – now takes just five days, compared with about a week before. Imported durian prices have dropped 30 per cent due to the increase in supplies, CCTV said.


Trains are a good option for durian exporters, as they are cheaper than air freight but faster than cargo ships, which often leave fruit prone to rotting due to the longer transport times, according to Lim Chin Khee, an adviser to the Durian Academy, a Malaysian institution that trains growers.
“The China-Laos railway is becoming an important route for durian exports because it offers a good balance between speed, cost and fruit quality preservation,” Lim said. “For durians, especially premium varieties, time and temperature control are extremely important.”
Cold storage reduces losses from spoilage, uneven ripening and handling, Kim added. Just 3 per cent of durians shipped via the new rail link are expected to spoil, compared with 10 per cent before, CCTV reported.
China’s consumers are increasingly focused on quality, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com’s produce arm JD Fresh said in a blog post on Monday.
To address long-standing quality concerns, JD Fresh said it had introduced a standard for choosing the best Monthong durians from trees aged 10 years using criteria that eliminate 99 out of every 100 fruits.
The 1,035km (643-mile) China-Laos railway was built as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, with the two countries splitting the project’s US$5.9 billion construction costs. The idea was to boost Laos’ economy by providing the impoverished, landlocked nation with new trade links to China and other countries in the region.
China sourced most of its durians from Thailand and Vietnam last year, with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and the Philippines also shipping durians to the country in smaller quantities.
Laos, Thailand and Vietnam are best positioned to take advantage of the new cold-storage rail service because of their geographic locations, Lim said.


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A new cold-storage rail service is whisking mountains of durians from Thailand to China, reducing prices for the prized fruit


A new cold-storage rail service is whisking mountains of durians from Thailand to China, reducing prices for the prized fruit.


Durian Express? New Southeast Asia rail service cuts fruit prices in China

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A new cold-storage rail service is whisking mountains of durians from Thailand to China, reducing prices for the prized fruit

A new cold-storage rail service is whisking mountains of durians from Thailand to China, reducing prices for the prized fruit