Salahuddin (centre) says the approval to export frozen durian was granted after just two months of factory inspections by China's representatives.
JOHOR BARU: Malaysia is expected to start exporting its first batch of Musang King durian in August, after receiving export approval from China on Thursday (May 30).
Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub said the country’s durian has huge market potential in China based on the high demand and huge population.
“Of the total 1.4bil population in China, only 1% have tasted the creamy texture and bitter-sweet flavour of our Musang King. So imagine the bright future of our durian industry in China.
“The green light was given to us after a representative from China came in early May to inspect our factories and premises,” he said, adding that the approval, which usually took up to two years, was given after just one month.
Salahuddin was met by reporters after officiating the Jimat Belanja Aidilfitri @ Pasar Tani programme at Pasar Tani Datin Halimah, here on Saturday (June 1).
He said this was the first time Malaysia had been granted approval to export whole frozen Musang King fruit, as previously the country exported durian to China in slices or in the form of durian paste.
“The slices are for consumption, whereas the paste is for food flavouring, like ice cream and others.
“These durians will be exported to Beijing and Guangzhou, and we will see if we can expand to other entry points based on the demands from these two locations first,” he added.
He added that this was the result of the previous meetings between the two nations back in August 2018 and March 2019.
“The meeting was led by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, where he stressed the importance of the durian market in China for our economic growth,” he added.
Salahuddin added that a total of nine local companies had been selected and given licence to export Musang King to China this year.
He said the ministry would not hesitate to revoke the export licence of companies that failed to practise the Malaysia Good Agriculture Practice (MyGAP) and integrity in their business.
“Due to the huge market potential, there could be a risk of under-supply on our part, so we hope companies do not take advantage of the situation by replacing Musang King with other species of durian.
“This will give a negative impact to the trust that has been given by China’s government and will ruin our reputation,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the Pasar Tani programme, Salahuddin said the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) aimed to reach sales worth RM1mil. The Jimat Belanja Aidilfitri @ Pasar Tani programme runs from May 31 until June 4 and involves 115 traders.
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