China is going crazy for durians
Locals love the pungent fruit. The government sees an opportunity
ERIC CHAN has long sold durians, a pungent fruit, to South-East Asians. Now he is eyeing a bigger prize. The Musang King variety that he cultivates in Malaysia is beloved by Chinese consumers. But at the moment his country only has permission to export frozen durians to China, where many want them fresh. In total, Chinese foodies gobbled up $6.7bn-worth of imported fresh durians last year, up from $4bn in 2022 and $1.6bn in 2019, the year durians overtook cherries as China’s largest fresh-fruit import by value.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “A whiff of diplomacy”
From the June 15th 2024 edition
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