Durian diplomacy heats up in SEA

In Malaysia, the durian harvest season is beginning. In the coming weeks, piles of the prickly, football-sized fruit will be sold at impromptu street-corner kiosks, out of vans parked on pavements, beside highways and, of course, in markets and supermarkets. Even from the back of a car, you can smell them before you see them. Durian garden parties, themed buffets and dessert menus will honour the seasonal return of the ‘King of Fruits’. 

The celebratory fervour for the creamy, pungent-smelling fruit is also extending beyond South East Asia into the world’s second-largest economy. Chinese palates are learning to crave durians, creating an import market worth almost USD7 billion in 2024. China bought more than 1.5 million tonnes of durians last year, an almost 10 percent increase on 2023 – following a 66 percent increase across the previous 12 months. 

The 'king of fruits' - durian - is becoming the centre of competition for South East Asian countries wanting to export to China. Image: Unsplash/Job Savelsberg

Thailand claims around 58 percent of the durian export market to China, with Vietnam accounting for 38 percent. Malaysia, which began exporting fresh durians to China in 2024, and the Philippines comprise the small remainder of the market. With Thailand’s market share declining, however, competition among ASEAN nations is set to intensify. 

Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture established a durian plantation development programme in 2024 in five provinces. Already a large-scale cultivator of durians, much of its crop is retained for domestic consumers. Lengthy shipping times and customs procedures have stymied direct exports to China, but the Ministry believes it can cultivate a niche by starting to freight frozen durian products. 

Laos is also eyeing a fruity bonanza. Earlier this year, three Lao companies received 30-year concessions to farm durians on a 300-hectare site in Attapeu province, near the Cambodia and Vietnam borders. The target market is China, although trade negotiations will be required to add durians to the list of 17 agricultural products approved for export to China. 

Trading in Tropical Fruits

Amid US President Trump’s tariff turbulence, with protectionist discourse dominated by manufactured cars, computers, phones, semiconductors, toys, airplanes and rare earths, one category tends to get overlooked: fresh foods.

In the first quarter of 2025, China imported RMB52.65 billion of agricultural products from ASEAN nations, up 14 percent year on year. Although durians account for a relatively small proportion, exports of this and other tropical fruits are forecast to continue rising.

During last week’s high-profile trade meetings between President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, we learned that China wants to receive more agricultural products to meet escalating consumer demand. Bilateral accords will result in: 

·         Vietnam stepping up exports of passion fruits, chilis, and bird's nests, in return for importing more Chinese sturgeon. 

·         Malaysia commencing exports of fresh coconuts to China to “strengthen the local coconut industry and increase the nation's agricultural export earnings,” according to Mohamad Sabu, Malaysia’s Food Security Minister. 

·         Cambodia expanding its supply of “premium agricultural products”, including bananas, mangos and longans, to Chinese wholesalers.

Piles of durian being prepared for sale in Bangkok. Image: Unsplash/Rach Teo

So, while the White House pushes tariff talks from several time zones away, China and ASEAN are leveraging a shared competitive advantage: geography. Shipments of fresh foods in both directions are slated to proliferate as more overland railways and highways are commissioned to connect populations, product suppliers and commercial ports. In Malaysia, a new railway will connect Kuala Lumpur and secondary cities with two large coastal ports terminating near the Singapore border in the south and the Thai border in the north. In Vietnam, a new railway will link Haiphong port, the capital Hanoi and the Chinese border.

Promoting Durian Tours 

Among South East Asia’s tropical fruits, the durian is coveted by Chinese citizens who have acquired a taste for it while travelling in the region. There are numerous variants – Malaysia alone claims more than 200 – with the prized Musang King especially popular. 

As the volume increased of Chinese tourists seeking new food-centric travel experiences in the years leading up to the pandemic, enterprising Malaysian farmers began offering Durian Tours. These enable visitors to take part in the picking and packaging of this unique fruit and learn different ways to prepare and eat durians in snacks, dishes, drinks and desserts. 

The tours emphasise that the durian is more than a fruit whose harvest is eagerly awaited. It’s a shared cultural symbol across South East Asia. The Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay in Singapore are known as the Big Durians, because of their domed concert halls with spiky sunshades protruding from the outer skin. A giant durian statue on a roundabout in Kampot, in Cambodia’s agricultural heartlands, regularly appears on tourists’ social media videos.

The giant durian in Kampot, Cambodia. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Taste cravings are not universal, though. Some diners are wary of the excess heat eating durians can create in the body and stomach, while international visitors are sometimes repelled by the distinctive smell and texture. Indeed, it’s not uncommon for Malaysian hotels to display signs in public areas prohibiting guests from taking durians to their rooms.

Agritourism Adventure in Testing Times

Meantime, as Malaysia attempts to eat into the commanding shares of the China export market enjoyed by neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam, it continues to use durian tourism as a sales vehicle.

Tourism Malaysia has developed 62 Durian Agritourism Packages in partnership with farmers and local tour operators in 12 states, including Perak, Penang, Selangor, Malacca, Johor, Pahang and Sabah. Combining orchard fruit-picking, cookery classes and village homestays with train journeys, golf and river cruises, the packages are promoted in target visitor source markets, such as China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“Agritourism is one of the niche segments rapidly gaining popularity in Malaysia for domestic and international markets”, says Manoharan Periasamy, Director General of Tourism Malaysia. “One of the highlights of our Durian Tourism Packages is where the enchantment of the king of fruits intertwines with the thrill of adventure and relaxation.”

With the harvest season set to run through August, Malaysia hopes that durian tourism can support trade diplomacy with Asia’s superpower during these testing times for global trade.

Banner image: Photo by Shino Nakamura on Unsplash

Asia Media Centre