KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- A total of 413.61 tonnes of fresh durian from Malaysia worth RM24.84 million was exported to China from August 24 to December 31 last year, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.
He said based on a survey by the Agricultural Advisory Office (AAO) in Beijing, the country's fresh durian has received very encouraging response in the Chinese market with the fruit accorded premium status.
"Durian from Malaysia is now available in 16 regions in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tienjin and Chengdu. The AAO in Beijing is also actively implementing promotional activities for consumers in China to get to know the characteristics and advantages of various varieties of durian from Malaysia," he said.
He was responding to a question from Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) who wanted to know the total amount of Malaysian durian exports, its reception in the Chinese market and the main challenges facing the Malaysian durian industry in maintaining competitiveness during an oral question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Currently, he said Malaysian durians are in high demand from countries such as China, Singapore and Hong Kong with the size of the fresh durian market in China in 2023 worth RM32 billion.
Arthur said that among the main challenges facing the Malaysian durian industry in maintaining the competitiveness of fresh durian is that production cannot meet demand.
"The demand for fresh durian for the export market cannot be met by current production, the supply of fresh durian fruit is only limited to the harvest season, usually only twice a year," he said.
Responding to Chow's supplementary question regarding the government's measures in assisting durian farmers, Arthur said that throughout the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), the ministry through the Department of Agriculture has provided incentives for durian cultivation under the Long-Term Fruit Crop Development Project.
"For 2021 to 2024, a total of 4,762 people have received benefits such as farm infrastructure development, agricultural inputs and farm equipment from this programme," he said.
-- BERNAMA
