The first shipment of fresh Malaysian durians is uploaded onto a charter flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on August 24, 2024. Photo: cnsphoto

Malaysia's first shipment of 20 tons of fresh durians completed customs clearance at Zhengzhou International Airport in Central China's Henan Province on Sunday, the Xinhua News Agency reported. This means that for the first time, fresh durians from Malaysia have entered the Chinese market on a large scale, highlighting deepening economic ties between China and Malaysia.

On Sunday morning, Chinese fruit retailer Xianfeng Fruit received its first shipment of fresh durians from Malaysia, an employee confirmed to the Global Times.

"Chinese consumers will soon be able to purchase these room-temperature stored durians at Xianfeng Fruit stores in Henan and in some other provinces such as East China's Zhejiang Province," the employee said.

Besides, another 20 tons of Malaysian fresh durians are expected to arrive at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport in South China's Guangdong Province early on Monday morning.

This cooperation, driven by the joint efforts of both governments and industry leaders, reflects the progress made since high-level exchanges in June, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Malaysia diplomatic ties, with both countries signing a protocol in June, allowing fresh Malaysian durians into the Chinese market. Previously, only frozen durians from Malaysia were exported to China. Since the protocol was signed, Malaysia became the fourth ASEAN member, after Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, to be able to export fresh durians to China.

After the protocol was signed, several Chinese fruit retailers began planning collaboration with Malaysia's durian industry, the Global Times learned.

"The export of Malaysian durians to China is set to boost local industries and create jobs. With China's strong demand, bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector is deepening, promising significant future growth," said Qian.

The Black Thorn durians are seen at a durian orchard in Raub, Malaysia. China is a major global durian consumer. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that China will account for 95 percent of global durian consumption in 2024. In 2023, China imported more than 1.42 million tons of fresh durians, a 72.85 percent increase year-on-year, with an import value of 47.2 billion yuan ($6.47 billion), up 74.8 percent, both reaching record highs, according to customs data. Photo: Xinhua