From China to Europe and from the Middle East to the United States, Malaysian durian is quickly gaining popularity in markets around the world. Rising global demand for the fruit, known as the "king of fruits", has pushed the country's durian exports up markedly in recent years.

Malaysia's Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mohamad Sabu, said durian exports to Europe grew by 162 per cent between 2020 and 2024. Over the same period, exports to North America rose by 5.2 per cent and to the Middle East by 8.8 per cent.

He said the growth came from opening new export markets and from Malaysia's high-quality durian, especially the Musang King variety, which remains one of the most sought-after durians on the international market.

In 2023 China was the largest destination for Malaysian durian, taking fruit worth 1.19 billion Malaysian ringgit.

It was followed by:

• Hong Kong: 101 million ringgit
• Singapore: 76 million ringgit
• Indonesia: 58 million ringgit
• United States: 35.4 million ringgit

The total value of durian exports rose from 570.8 million ringgit in 2020 to 1.51 billion ringgit in 2023, before easing to 1.18 billion ringgit in 2024.

Malaysian durian is now exported to more than 40 countries, among them Canada, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain.

To push exports further, the country's agriculture department is helping durian orchards obtain Malaysian Good Agricultural Practices certification, an important requirement for exporting to international markets. So far 1,933 durian farms across the country have been certified.

To secure long-term production, 45 million ringgit has been allocated under the Twelfth Malaysia Plan for new orchards and replanting, covering more than 9,400 hectares.

The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) is building an international agricultural trade network with 10 overseas marketing companies. Trial shipments are also being sent to countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Mohamad Sabu said better packaging, branding and the "Malaysia's Best" and "Taste of Malaysia" promotions in large overseas supermarkets had raised the fruit's international profile further.

In his view, these efforts have strengthened the global competitiveness of Malaysia's fruit industry and are helping to sustain demand for durian beyond Asia's traditional markets.

The report drew on The Straits Times.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.