China Fresh Durian insights

This content was approved by the General Administration of Customs of China and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia, in the protocol signed in April 2025.

Currently, Cambodia has bananas, mangoes, longans and coconuts that are directly exported to China. After the signing of the durian protocol, pineapples and jackfruits are still under negotiation. According to the Khmer Times, on April 23, the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) issued an announcement calling on durian plantation owners, durian planting communities and fresh durian processing and packaging factories that intend to plant, process and export fresh durian to the Chinese market to apply for registration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The ministry plans to submit a list of fresh durian plantations and processing and packaging factories to China in May for review and evaluation before formal export. May-June every year is the durian season in Cambodia. Cambodian durian is mainly grown in Battambang, Kampot, Pursat, Kampong Cham and parts of Khmum, as well as Koh Kong Province. Kong) and parts of Ratanakkiri Province. Although Cambodian durian has not yet been officially approved, a large number of durians have always been exported to China as local durians through Thailand and Vietnam. Starting from 2023, Thai and Chinese traders have successively inspected the association's durian plantations and prepared to purchase durian. Domestic agricultural enterprises and importers have also gone to Cambodia to plan durian planting businesses. In Battambang Province in northwestern Cambodia, Zhengzhou Chen's Sunshine Fruit and Vegetable Trading Co., Ltd. has cooperated with local enterprises to build a durian planting base of more than 2,500 acres. The project is currently progressing smoothly, and supporting facilities such as agricultural industrial parks are being accelerated.

It is the early stage of durian production in eastern Thailand, and the industry is preparing for the peak of exports. However, the General Administration of Customs of China has suspended two certified laboratories responsible for alkaline tender yellow testing, causing concerns in the Thai durian industry. According to Thai media reports, the reason for the suspension was that the laboratories claimed that batches of durian that did not detect alkaline tender yellow were found to contain alkaline tender yellow in spot checks by Chinese customs. The number of certified laboratories is limited, and now two have been suspended, and the export of Thai durian may be affected. The Thai Ministry of Agriculture issued an announcement on January 10 that all fresh Thai durian exported to China must be accompanied by a test report issued by a laboratory certified by the General Administration of Customs of China, and the heavy metal cadmium content in durian shall not exceed 0.05mg/kg ...