Southeast Asian durian producers, focused in their focus on the Chinese market, face issues due to an upcoming supply shortage as well as economic conditions that could limit China’s import demand for durians. In spite of these issues their impact on China’s initiatives towards durian self-sufficiency is not too significant. Exporters of Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines along with other areas are active in the China International Import Expo in Shanghai and are looking to obtain more orders, without worrying over the competition of Chinese durians. This is especially true for the ones of Hainan province.

Jeremy Chin, managing director and co-founder of Jeremy Chin, managing director and co-founder LKE Group, a durian trading firm based in Kuala Lumpur, expressed confidence that the quality of Southeast Asian durians over their Chinese counterparts. Chin pointed out that China despite all technological advances, is not able to provide the perfect mix of geography, technology and climate to support durian cultivation, which countries such as Malaysia are able to provide. In particular, he said that, although Hainan could be a suitable place to start durian cultivation, its geographical and climate conditions could cause higher costs for the cultivation process and higher prices for retail. Chin said that reaching durian self-reliance is difficult for China which would mean a continuing dependence on imports.

The source is myNews