KUALA LUMPUR: RM24.84mil worth of Malaysian fresh durians were exported to China from August till December last year, said the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry.
Its deputy minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup said that this was a total of 413.61 metric tonnes of fresh durians exported with the first batch exported on Aug 24, 2024.
"Malaysian durians are currently available in 16 regions in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Chengdu," he said, and the Beijing Agriculture Advisor Office is promoting Malaysian durians' benefits and characteristics to Chinese consumers.
"The office has also found through a survey that "Malaysian fresh durians are well received by the Chinese market and are regarded as premium," he said.
He was responding to Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) who asked about how Malaysian durians are received in China.
He added that the current durian production is not meeting the demand, as the Chinese fresh durian market was valued at RM32bil in 2023.
"However, the current production is insufficient to meet the export market demand. The supply of fresh durians is limited to the harvesting seasons, usually twice a year," he said.
He also said that Malaysian durian must be exported immediately through air and at refrigerated conditions and can only be kept for three to four days to maintain its freshness.
"This leads to higher shipping costs," he said, compared to Vietnam or Thailand’s durian which are harvested before ripening and have a shelf life of up to 25 days.
Meanwhile, he said that "the authority to grant land titles lies with the state," responding to Chow’s supplementary question on whether the government will provide land titles for durian farmers in Raub.
"To assist durian growers in the state of Pahang, the Department of Agriculture (DOA) also provides designated areas within the Permanent Food Production Park (TKPM) for durian cultivation," he said.
He also said that the ministry has provided incentives for durian cultivation under the Long-Term Fruit Plantation Development Project, where 4,762 farmers have benefited and received support such as farm infrastructure development, agricultural expertise and farming equipment.
He added that. "the ministry offers a tax incentive for companies and investors with upstream agro-food sector projects."
"This tax incentive allows companies to enjoy a 100% business income tax exemption for up to 10 years and income tax deductions based on qualifying capital expenditure," he said.
In July last year, 131 Musang King durian farmers from Raub, Pahang failed in their attempt to gain access to their durian orchards to maintain and cultivate the durian trees pending the outcome of their appeal against an eviction order.
