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Malaysia wants to sell the ‘Hermes’ of durians, the Musang King, to China and rupture Thailand’s market dominance
- On sidelines of Belt and Road Forum, Malaysian firms promoted home-grown durian products ahead of expected new rules allowing them to sell durians to China
- Most of China’s durian imports come from Thailand, the world’s top producer
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Only 1 in every 100 durians sold in China now comes from Malaysia and the country is on a mission to ramp up its market share in the stinky fruit that is both revered and reviled around the world.
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Malaysia is expected to be allowed to export whole, frozen durians to China in a few months’ time after a change in Chinese policy, and its businessmen are gearing up to break Thailand’s durian dominance there.
On the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, several companies affiliated with Malaysian-listed PLS Plantations Berhad staged a showcase of durian products and new technology in growing the fruit that haters say smells like rotting flesh and gym socks.
The two-day Malaysian Durian Festival was held at an upscale hotel, in a gaily-decorated ballroom decked out with fake durians. One booth offered samples of durian chocolate while another showed pictures of “Musang King Snowy Mooncakes”. Even Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attended the event to show his support for the country’s push to penetrate China’s durian market.
“Malaysian durians are more expensive [than Thai durians]. But now the Chinese economy is doing so well. The Chinese are getting richer and have higher demands for what they wear, what cars they drive, and what food they eat,” Wan Mun-hoe, managing director of the Malaysian company Newleaf Plantation Berhad, said at the festival.
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