March 03, 2025


Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 3, 2025. The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) has announced that, driven by the robust growth in the demand for Malaysian durians in the Chinese market, the country's durian exports are anticipated to witness a substantial upswing this year, with an increase ranging from 20% to 25%. Abdul Rashid Bahri, the Director - General of Fama, pointed out that factors such as the favorable export scenario, the expansion of farm and processing facilities, the deepening of trade relations, and effective market promotion jointly underpin this optimistic outlook.

Recently, China has imposed restrictions on the import of fresh durians from Vietnam and Thailand. This measure has significantly spurred the market demand for Malaysian durians. On February 6, the relevant Thai authorities destroyed 64,671 kilograms of durians rejected by China. The reason was that these durians were detected to contain Basic Yellow 2 (BY2), also known as Yellow O, a dye used for color enhancement. In the first half of February this year, the volume of durians exported from Vietnam to China dropped by 80%, amounting to merely 3,500 tons, and some products were found to have exceeded the standards for cadmium and BY2.

Since last year, Malaysia has officially commenced exporting fresh durians to China. From August to December 2023, the export volume reached 413.61 tons, valued at 24.84 million Malaysian ringgit (approximately 5.24 million US dollars). According to data from Trade Map, the average export price of Malaysian durians to China is $16.72 per kilogram, which is around four times that of Vietnam ($4.31 per kilogram) and three times that of Thailand ($5.32 per kilogram).

Sam Tan, the President of the Malaysian Durian Exporters Association, stated that states like Johor, Penang, and Perak are actively expanding the cultivation scale of Musang King durians, which will contribute to achieving year - round supply of Musang King durians. For instance, the Agroforestry Group has planned to acquire hundreds of hectares of land in Johor to expand the plantation of the popular Musang King durians. The company has successfully developed ten Musang King plantations in Johor. Despite the extremely high market demand for Musang King durians, with the purchase price reaching as high as 83 Malaysian ringgit per kilogram (about $17.6), Sam Tan cautioned that Malaysia should not blindly chase profits while neglecting quality. He called on the government to formulate stringent policies to prevent premature harvesting and improper storage, so as to maintain market order and ensure the quality and distinct flavor of durians.

Paul Martin, the CEO of the Agroforestry Group, one of the world's leading companies in sustainably managed forestry and agriculture and a renowned Musang King durian cultivation enterprise, said that in the highly competitive global market, Musang King durians possess obvious advantages owing to their unique cultivation and harvesting methods. Paul Martin emphasized, "Malaysian Musang King durians follow the model of natural ripening and falling before being harvested, which significantly enhances the product quality and safety and endows them with a unique core competitiveness in the global market." Moreover, Malaysian Musang King durians have obtained Good Agricultural Practice (MyGAP or GlobalGAP) certification and consistently adhere to the concept of sustainable agriculture, rendering them more competitive in the global market competition.

However, experts have also alerted the Malaysian government that it is essential to strictly regulate the use of chemicals on farms to ensure compliance with relevant Chinese standards. As durian cultivation expands across more states, Malaysia is expected to meet the ever - increasing demand of the Chinese market while strengthening its market position as a high - quality durian supplier.


About Agroforestry Group
Established in 2015, Agroforestry Group have applied their thirty years of private forestry management into the establishment and commercial development of durian and agarwood plantations, product distribution and sales. As an asset class, agriculture and forestry has expanded rapidly over the last decade due to interest from risk-averse private investors attracted by the green credentials of the industry and the long-term high returns of agroforestry.


https://www.agroforestrygroup.com
https://www.agroforestrygroup.com.cn