On Sept 7, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian posted on social media that fresh durians from the Philippines will soon be available in China.

Huang said the team went to the Davao region to investigate the market access of fresh durian from the Philippines to China. The team completed risk assessment of durian orchard harvesting, fruit packaging, pest monitoring, chemical control, covid-19 prevention and traceability system in Davao, and it is expected that fresh durians from Davao will be allowed to be imported into China as soon as this year.

As the world's largest importer of durian, China imported 822,000 tons worth $4.21 billion in 2021, up 82.4 percent year-on-year. In the first half of 2022, China's durian imports increased by another 60% year on year, and the market demand is huge.

Statistics from the Philippines' Department of Agriculture (DA) show that fresh durian exports from 2014 to 2021 were among the top 10 in the world. The Agriculture Ministry has been urging durian growers to increase production due to growing demand from foreign markets.

In terms of cultivation area, the Davao region is the main producer of durian in the Philippines. Durian is grown in 47 provinces in the Philippines, with 78 percent of the total production in 2020 concentrated in Davao. In 2020, there were 1.3 million durian trees in Davao, with an area of 16,582 hectares. Durian production was 78,816 tonnes, down 0.6 per cent from 79,284 tonnes in 2019. Locally grown durian varieties include Chanee, Monthong, Alcon Fancy, Arancillo and Puyat.

In terms of export destinations, the Philippines mainly exported durian to Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Qatar and the United States in 2020. In 2021, durian from the Philippines was exported to Australia for the first time.

The Philippines will become the third country to be allowed to export fresh durian to China, which currently only allows imports from Thailand and Vietnam.