THERE is a vast market for and interest in the King of Fruits in China and that is why Malaysia emphasises exporting fresh durian, says Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.
“Imagine if 10% of their citizens eat durians, no matter how much we harvest here, it won’t be enough,” he said during Question Time in Parliament yesterday.
Mohamad Sabu said other countries have not shown as much interest in the fruit compared with China.
“The Arab countries haven’t started eating durian and besides, they can’t even stand the smell.
“In Europe, there is a small number of people who eat durian, but in general, they are not really interested.
“The Chinese are eating durian in huge numbers. They have many citizens who can afford to spend,” he added.
Mohamad was responding to Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (PN–Kubang Kerian), who asked if there are plans to focus exports on other countries to ensure Malaysia is not at risk of being affected by the ongoing global trade war.
Last month, an agreement was signed to enable Malaysia to export fresh durian to China.
On this, Mohamad said the first batch of fresh durian is expected to reach the Middle Kingdom in the next few months.
He said durian farms and packing facilities must register with the Agriculture Department, adhere to the Malaysia Good Agriculture Practices and get approval from China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC).
“The ministry is expecting that the approval of registration with the GACC would take two to three months and the export of fresh durian is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year,” he added.
