Laos has received approval to begin exporting fresh durians to China, becoming the latest Southeast Asian nation to vie for a slice of the vast Chinese market for the tropical fruit.
China’s General Administration of Customs said on its website that Laos was given clearance to begin exports from this past Friday as long as its shipments met phytosanitary standards.
Laos could emerge as a challenger in China’s increasingly crowded durian market, as it benefits from cheap labour, logistical advantages and strong political ties with Beijing, analysts said.
Companies in Laos should be able to keep prices of the normally expensive fruit low thanks to the country’s cheap land and labour, as well as a
recently opened railway connecting the Laotian capital, Vientiane, with Kunming in southwestern China.
“The most important thing is the logistics, and then the labour,” said Lim Chin Khee, an adviser to the Durian Academy, a Malaysian institution that trains growers.
The flavour of durians from Laos will vary little from those grown in neighbouring countries like Thailand and Vietnam – which currently lead the way in the Chinese market – as rainfall patterns in the countries are similar, Lim added.
More than 90 per cent of all durian exports end up in China, where the spiky, odiferous fruit is so highly prized that it is often gifted at formal events such as weddings. A single durian weighing 6kg (13lbs) fetches as much as 200 yuan (US$28) in the country.