The minister of Malaysia's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), Mr. Shabu, said that representatives from China and Malaysia have signed the Protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Fresh Durian from Malaysia to China on June 20, according to Malaysian media reports.

It takes 5-10 years for durian trees to bear fruit after planting, and Shabu called on local Malaysian durian practitioners to start large-scale expansion of durian planting from now on so that they can export durians to the Chinese market in the next 5-6 years. He said the Malaysian government will continue to provide support and assistance to entrepreneurs to ensure that the durians produced by local farms are of good quality and suitable for export to China. Regardless of any type of durian grown, the quality for export must be superior.

Malaysia has been exporting frozen durian fruit and meat products to China since 2011, and in 2018 it was authorized to export frozen whole fruits. China, one of the major export markets for Malaysian durian, reached MYR887 million in 2022, or about 1.366 billion yuan.

In terms of varieties, the Malaysian Elvis Presley durian has the highest visibility in the country, but its slightly bitter taste has limited acceptance. In recent years, the black thorn durian has gained favor with Chinese consumers with its sweet taste, which has led many durian growers to switch to planting more black thorn durians.

Malaysia's durian production was at 455,458 tons in 2022, and production is expected to increase by 11% to 505,853 tons in 2025. Data released by the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture shows that black thorn durians currently account for only 1% of Malaysia's total durian production, while Elvis Presley durians account for 36%. Kampung durians, which are mainly consumed locally, accounted for 38% of total production, while D24 durians accounted for 11%.

Last year China imported about 90,000 containers of durians, of which about 60,000 containers came from Thailand and 20,000 from Vietnam, with other countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines accounting for only 10 percent of China's durian market. Now that Malaysian fresh durians have gained access, it is expected that exports to China will also be on a higher level.