Durian photo: VCG

Three months after an export protocol was signed between China and the Philippines, fresh durians from the Southeast Asian country were shipped to China.

From bananas and pineapples to mangoes and avocados, and now durians, the Chinese market is constantly bringing new business opportunities to the Philippines, creating jobs and increasing local farmers' income. With a new door officially opened, it is believed that bilateral trade ties will be further cemented in the post-COVID era, experts said.

A total of 18 tons of Philippine durians arrived at an airport in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Friday, Chinanews.com reported. The fruit was then transported to a dealer of Dole Food Co Inc, a major importer, in Shanghai.

A public relations employee of Dole told the Global Times on Sunday that this first batch of the fruit is already sold out, and a second batch is due to arrive by air on Monday. He said that durians from the Philippines are of good quality.

The food company expects China to become the biggest export destination for Davao, a major durian production base in the Philippines, which accounts for roughly 78 percent of the country's total durian output.

Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that more agricultural cooperation between China and the Philippines will help improve employment in the Southeast Asian country's agricultural sector. Meanwhile, it will meet China's increasing demand.

About one-quarter of the Philippines' employment in 2021 was in agriculture and the industry accounted for 9.6 percent of the GDP, according to the Philippines' Department of Agriculture.

More farmers in Davao Region and neighboring regions will be trained on Good Agricultural Practices for Durian by the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Offices, Bureau of Plant Industry and Agricultural Training Institute, which will apply for PhilGAP certification afterward. 

The effort will enhance their technical knowledge, the Global Times learned from the Philippines' Department of Agriculture in February.

The department expected more than 5.7 million kilograms of fresh durians to be exported to China each year.

China imported 821,500 tons of fresh durians in 2021, Chinese customs data showed.

Dole said that the company expects China to become the world's top durian consumer by 2030. Currently, China ranks behind Indonesia and the Philippines in terms of durian consumption.

"With more Philippine durians shipped to China, it will bring more balanced trade relations," Xu said.

He stressed that China's opening door for Philippine durians demonstrates that the world's second-largest economy's commitment to the Philippines' trade and investment is true to its word, and it is taking concrete actions with goodwill and sincerity.

The Philippines has become China's largest import source of bananas and pineapples, and China is the third-largest export market for Philippine agricultural products.

It is believed that with more dividends from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) being unleashed, bilateral trade and economic cooperation will become deeper.

The Philippines officially joined the RCEP, the world's largest trade deal, in February last year.

The Philippines' total external merchandise trade grew by 12.9 percent in 2022 to $216.2 billion, with China remaining the largest supplier of imports, the Philippine Statistics Authority said in early April.