Thorny challenge to US$8bil durian export bid

Lucrative crop: China was the largest importer of durians between 2020 and 2022, accounting for 95% of global demand. — Bernama

JAKARTA: Indonesia is seeking to capture a significant share of China’s exploding demand for durian which is worth billions of US dollars, but experts say the country is not in good shape to compete with its more established neighbours.

Durian, hailed by enthusiasts as the “king of fruit”, has become a focal point in diplomatic engagements between China and South-East Asian countries as Beijing pledged to import more fruit from the region to cement its influence amid an intensifying rivalry with the United States in the bloc.