Indonesia’s bid to ship durians straight to China rides on refrigeration, sanitation
Jakarta seeks to weigh into the lucrative industry but must refine its cold-chain storage to ensure fruits arrive in perfect condition
Sudaryono, deputy agriculture minister of the Southeast Asian archipelago, has announced that Indonesia is “actively seeking opportunities” to export directly to China as a way of increasing profits from an average of 10 to 30 per cent, the national news agency Antara reported earlier this month.
Indonesia began exporting fresh durians to China earlier this year, making it a relative newcomer in Southeast Asia after Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. China consumes more than 90 per cent of all durians produced in the world.
So far, Malaysia and Thailand have been receiving Indonesian durians on their way to China and helping growers with phytosanitary approvals required by Chinese authorities and large-scale and long-term refrigeration, known as cold-chain storage, analysts said.
“Indonesia has been working on improving certification processes and may no longer need to rely on these [other Southeast Asian] countries to get access to the Chinese market and satisfy Chinese customs,” said Jayant Menon, a trade-specialised visiting senior fellow with the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute research organisation in Singapore.