China has consolidated its position as the world's largest durian importer over the past two years, with annual imports exceeding $4 billion each, accounting for 91 percent of global demand, according to a recent report by HSBC. Thanks to Chinese consumers' love of durian, global demand for durian has soared 400 per cent year-on-year.

The surge in Chinese durian demand began in early 2015, with fresh durian imports growing at a compound rate of 17% between 2015 and 2022. In 2022, durian ranked first in the amount of fruit imported to China. Durian import prices jumped from about 11.8 yuan/kg in 2015 to 33.1 yuan/kg in 2022, a three-fold increase in six years. At present, the retail price of durian in the Chinese market is about 35 yuan/kg, while the average price in Southeast Asian countries is 6 US dollars/kg. China's durian imports in the first half of the year reached 787,000 tons with a value of $3.83 billion, up 57.1 percent and 64.9 percent, respectively, compared with the same period last year, according to the General Administration of Customs. Durian imports in the first half of this year were almost the same as the whole of last year. Of the 787,000 tons of durians imported in the first half of the year, 600,000 tons came from Thailand, 186,000 tons from Vietnam and a small amount from the Philippines.

Previously, fresh fruit durians sold in the domestic market mainly came from Thailand, and frozen durians from Malaysia can also enter the Chinese market. Since then, after years of negotiations, Vietnamese and Philippine durians have been granted access to the Chinese market. As a result, in the Chinese market in 2023, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are competing for the fresh fruit durian market. However, from the current point of view, Thailand's position as the largest durian export country is still difficult to shake. According to HSBC, ASEAN exports 90 percent of the world's durian, and Thailand is the leading exporter in ASEAN, accounting for 99 percent of total exports.

Aris Dakanai, an economist at HSBC, said that after the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect, tariff reduction and other policies have brought good news to the economy and trade between China and ASEAN. The surge in durian demand will bring opportunities not only to Thailand, but also to other Southeast Asian countries. Major durian exporters in ASEAN are reaping the benefits of this trend, with Thailand in a strong position. The durian market is still expanding, with other ASEAN economies eagerly rushing in to compete with Thailand for dominance as king of the fruit.

Vietnam, the biggest competitor of Thai durians, is increasing exports to China and using cross-border land transport to control costs. According to Vietnamese media reports, in the first half of this year, Vietnam exported durian worth a total of $876 million, of which the value of durian exported to China was as high as $835 million. Vietnamese growers say there are cost savings from transporting durians by road, which will eventually be reflected in retail prices.