
Different sorts of durian fruits on show at a durian stall in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia,.
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Some say it is sticky-sweet, others say it smells like socks. Love it or hate it, the urge for food for durians is rising voraciously — particularly in China.
Global demand for polarizing fruit soared 400% year-on-year, in accordance with HSBC which mentioned it is largely bolstered by a “craze” for the fruit in China.
“Bucking world tendencies, durian demand is surging by 400% year-on-year led solely by a craze in China,” a report launched by the financial institution on Monday mentioned.
Over the previous two years, China imported $6 billion price of durians — accounting for 91% of world demand, HSBC’s ASEAN Economist Aris Dacanay mentioned in the report.
The “durian growth” is essentially concentrated in China, the place customers don’t view it as only a fruit, but additionally as a present that flaunts the giver’s wealth.
Additionally, it has turn into extra frequent in China to incorporate durians as part of customary gifts to buddies and relations upon engagement.
While the growth in China’s durian demand began as early as 2017, the uptick in demand solely picked up from late 2022, in accordance with knowledge from HSBC.
Key durian exporters
The “king of fruits” sells for greater than $10 a kilo in China, in comparison with a mean of round $6 a kilo throughout Southeast Asian nations.
And the most important provider of this surge in demand lies in ASEAN, which accounted for 90% of the world’s durian exports in 2022.
Thailand alone makes up 99% of complete durian exports in the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Will durian be the new rubber? Maybe sometime, will probably be a world custom to present your [prospective] mother-in-law a durian. Only time will inform.
Aris Dacanay
ASEAN economist, HSBC
“Will durian be the new rubber? Maybe sometime, will probably be a world custom to present your [prospective] mother-in-law a durian. Only time will inform,” mentioned Dacanay.
The surge in durian demand carries alternatives for the remainder of Southeast Asia as effectively, not simply Thailand, the economist mentioned.
“The market in China is so massive that there’s loads of room for different ASEAN nations to leap proper in and compete – a durian ‘rush’ of type,” Dacanay wrote.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free commerce deal, which contains the ASEAN bloc along with China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, permits individuals freer and equal entry to the Chinese market, the report noticed.
“The window of alternative is there… the durian market remains to be getting greater as different economies in ASEAN eagerly rush in to compete towards Thailand’s dominance over the King of Fruits,” mentioned Dacanay.
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