City cashing-in on China’s billion-dollar urge for food for luxurious durian

[ad_1] <img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/b216/live/1b597b80-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/b216/live/1b597b80-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b216/live/1b597b80-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/b216/live/1b597b80-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/b216/live/1b597b80-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/b216/live/1b597b80-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/b216/live/1b597b80-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b216/live/1b597b80-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Getty Images Close up of a durian fruit being held in two hands." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Getty Photos China's surging demand for durians is shaping South East Asia's farming cities

Driving round Raub, a small city in Malaysia, it is not possible to overlook the prickly fruit that powers its financial system.

You possibly can scent it from the regular stream of vehicles winding by means of mountain roads, leaving a faint perfume on their trails.

You possibly can see it too: the inexperienced spikes of a large sculpture, murals painted fondly on low partitions and highway indicators that proclaim: "Welcome to the house of Musang King durians."

A gold mining city within the nineteenth Century, Raub has seen its financial system tackle a brand new hue of yellow in recent times. At the moment it is higher generally known as the land of the Musang King — a buttery, bittersweet selection that the Chinese language have dubbed the "Hermès of durians", as prized because the French vogue home.

Raub is one in all many South East Asian cities that sit on the coronary heart of a world durian rush, pumped by China's rising demand. In 2024, China imported a file $7bn (£5.2bn) value of durians — a three-fold improve from 2020. That is the place greater than 90% of the world's durian exports at the moment are headed.

"Even when solely 2% of Chinese language individuals wish to purchase durians, that is greater than sufficient enterprise," says Chee Seng Wong, manufacturing facility supervisor of Fresco Inexperienced, a durian exporter in Raub.

Wong remembers how farmers minimize down durian bushes to make room for oil palms, the nation's essential money crop, throughout an financial downturn within the Nineteen Nineties.

"Now it is the opposite approach spherical. They're chopping oil palms to develop durians once more."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/669d/live/8cf10050-e6bc-11f0-a595-1f25658e6ee4.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/669d/live/8cf10050-e6bc-11f0-a595-1f25658e6ee4.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/669d/live/8cf10050-e6bc-11f0-a595-1f25658e6ee4.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/669d/live/8cf10050-e6bc-11f0-a595-1f25658e6ee4.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/669d/live/8cf10050-e6bc-11f0-a595-1f25658e6ee4.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/669d/live/8cf10050-e6bc-11f0-a595-1f25658e6ee4.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/669d/live/8cf10050-e6bc-11f0-a595-1f25658e6ee4.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/669d/live/8cf10050-e6bc-11f0-a595-1f25658e6ee4.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="BBC/Koh Ewe A giant statue of a hand holding up a durian, against sunny blue skies in the background." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC/Koh Ewe Durians are the delight of Raub

A really hungry China

With an aroma that has been likened to cabbage, sulphur and sewers — relying on who the nostril belongs to — the durian packs a pungence so divisive that it is banned on some public transport and motels. It has been maligned for gasoline leaks, and was the explanation a aircraft was grounded after passengers remonstrated towards the scent wafting from the cargo maintain.

Followers from the area have christened it the "King of fruits", however on the web it has earned a much less flattering tag — the world's smelliest fruit — as vacationers unused to its odour search it out with squeamish curiosity.

But it has discovered a rising fanbase in China: as an unique reward exchanged among the many prosperous; a standing image to be unboxed on social media; and the star of culinary heresies from durian rooster hotpot to durian pizza.

Thailand and Vietnam are the highest durian suppliers to China, accounting for practically all of its imports. Malaysia's share of the market is sprouting quick, having earned a status with premium varieties such because the Musang King.

The typical worth of durian begins at lower than $2 (£1.4) in South East Asia, the place they're grown in abundance. However luxe variations just like the Musang King may price anyplace from $14 (£10) to $100 (£74) a pop, relying on their high quality and the season's harvest.

"As soon as I ate Malaysian durian, my first thought was, 'Wow, that is scrumptious. I've to discover a method to deliver it to China'," says Xu Xin, who has been sampling durians at a store in Raub. The 33-year-old sells the fruit again dwelling in northeastern China, and is on the hunt for one of the best durians to import.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/8ab4/live/b6b1d0f0-ea08-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/8ab4/live/b6b1d0f0-ea08-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/8ab4/live/b6b1d0f0-ea08-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/8ab4/live/b6b1d0f0-ea08-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/8ab4/live/b6b1d0f0-ea08-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/8ab4/live/b6b1d0f0-ea08-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/8ab4/live/b6b1d0f0-ea08-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/8ab4/live/b6b1d0f0-ea08-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="BBC/Koh Ewe Side view of a middle-aged man in a white T-shirt holding a slice of durian in one hand and a yellow glob of durian in the other hand. Behind him are two women sitting at a table eating durians with plastic gloves." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC/Koh Ewe Guests to Raub are delighted with its durians

Along with her are two durian exporters from southern China, one in all whom says enterprise has been booming. The opposite expects it to proceed: "There are such a lot of individuals who have not eaten it but. The market potential is large."

It is simple to see why they're so assured. Seated close by is a big Chinese language tour group — one in all many which have been flocking to rural Malaysia for a chunk of the fruit.

Eagerly they dig into platters of durian, rigorously organized from the mildest to the richest. If eaten in the proper order, locals say, recent notes ought to emerge with every glob on the flight: caramel, custard and eventually, an virtually alcoholic bitterness heralding the Musang King.

Such pedantry is probably why Malaysian durians have earned a particular place on the Chinese language desk.

"Possibly at first we solely favored durians that have been candy. However now we search for issues like perfume, richness and nuanced flavours," Xu says. "These days there are extra prospects who stroll into the store and ask, 'Are there any bitter ones on this batch?'"

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0f44/live/44402310-ea07-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0f44/live/44402310-ea07-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0f44/live/44402310-ea07-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/0f44/live/44402310-ea07-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0f44/live/44402310-ea07-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/0f44/live/44402310-ea07-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/0f44/live/44402310-ea07-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0f44/live/44402310-ea07-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="BBC/Koh Ewe Six slices of durians arranged neatly on a brown tray. Stuck on each durian is a label printed with the name of a durian variety, such as Tekka and Musang King." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC/Koh Ewe Durians organized from mildest (high left) to richest, ending with the Musang King (backside proper)

Raub's durian dynasties

Simply hours earlier than the durians ended up on Xu's plate, they have been painstakingly harvested at a close-by farm owned by Lu Yuee Factor.

Uncle Factor, as he is identified on the town, owns the durian store, together with a number of farms. He's one in all many success tales in Raub, the place durians have made millionaires out of farmers. In household companies like his, sons typically assist with transporting durians whereas daughters deal with accounting and the funds.

"Durian has contributed quite a bit to the financial system right here," Uncle Factor says.

Driving to his farm one morning, there may be quiet delight in his voice as he factors out the Japanese pickup vehicles which have changed the rickety jeeps he used to depend on for transporting crates of his fruit.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/2f58/live/b813f1a0-ea0b-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2f58/live/b813f1a0-ea0b-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2f58/live/b813f1a0-ea0b-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/2f58/live/b813f1a0-ea0b-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/2f58/live/b813f1a0-ea0b-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/2f58/live/b813f1a0-ea0b-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/2f58/live/b813f1a0-ea0b-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2f58/live/b813f1a0-ea0b-11f0-b696-4d18e91c1002.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="BBC/Koh Ewe Uncle Thing who has a long white beard is wearing a white shirt. He is reaching up to a durian dangling from a tree." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC/Koh Ewe Uncle Factor is one in all Raub's large durian success tales

Nonetheless, farming is tough work. At 72, Uncle Factor wakes up at daybreak on daily basis and weaves round his hilly farm to gather ripened durians, both dangling from bushes or nestling on nets near the bottom. A few years in the past, a falling durian landed on his shoulder, leaving him with a throbbing ache that acts up from time to time.

"It appears to be like like farmers make straightforward cash. Nevertheless it's not straightforward," he says.

As soon as harvested, the durians are dropped at Uncle Factor's store, the place they're sorted into baskets starting from Grade A, for the massive and spherical ones, to Grade C, the small and odd-shaped.

Sitting in the course of the sorting ground is a lone basket reserved for Grade AA durians, the handsomest of the lot.

These will quickly be flown to China.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/3daa/live/73ff2b50-e6bf-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/3daa/live/73ff2b50-e6bf-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3daa/live/73ff2b50-e6bf-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/3daa/live/73ff2b50-e6bf-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/3daa/live/73ff2b50-e6bf-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/3daa/live/73ff2b50-e6bf-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/3daa/live/73ff2b50-e6bf-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3daa/live/73ff2b50-e6bf-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="BBC/Koh Ewe Durians piled in the back of a pick-up truck parked in a durian farm. Workers are piling more durians to the back of another white pick-up truck, parked behind." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC/Koh Ewe The every day haul at Uncle Factor's farm

A durian coup?

China's insatiable urge for food for durians has formed as much as be a nifty diplomatic device.

Beijing has signed a flurry of durian commerce agreements, touting them as a celebration of bilateral ties — not simply with main producers like Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, but in addition budding suppliers like Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Laos.

"On this durian competitors, everybody's a winner," declared a state media article in 2024.

The offers additionally dovetail with China's investments in infrastructure within the area. The China-Laos Railway, launched in 2021, now transports greater than 2,000 tonnes of fruit on daily basis, most of them Thai durians.

However this clamour to maintain up with China's urge for food comes at a price.

Meals security considerations about Thai durians erupted final 12 months, after Chinese language authorities present in them a carcinogenic chemical dye believed to make the durians extra yellow.

In Vietnam, many espresso farmers pivoted to durians, driving up world espresso costs that have been already affected by extreme climate.

And in Raub, a turf conflict has damaged out. Authorities felled hundreds of durian bushes they mentioned have been planted illegally on state land. Farmers say they've been utilizing the land for many years with none problem, and allege they're now being pressured to pay a lease to proceed farming there, or face eviction.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/246e/live/82677890-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/246e/live/82677890-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/246e/live/82677890-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/246e/live/82677890-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/246e/live/82677890-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/246e/live/82677890-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/246e/live/82677890-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/246e/live/82677890-e61b-11f0-bc37-99d14a64a534.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images Wide shot of green durian trees and palms planted on hilly terrain" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Getty Photos Durian bushes and oil palms dominate Raub's panorama

In the meantime, a coup could also be on the best way in China's island province of Hainan, the place years of trial and error are bearing fruit. Its durian harvest for 2025 was anticipated to achieve 2,000 tonnes.

Like in so many industries, from renewables to AI, China has lengthy pushed to be self-sufficient in meals too.

Even because it reaps the fruits of this durian diplomacy, it's eyeing what state media calls "durian freedom".

"For one factor, we can't must depend on Thai and Vietnamese distributors when shopping for durians anymore!" proclaimed an article in August.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/f139/live/366392d0-e6c0-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/f139/live/366392d0-e6c0-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f139/live/366392d0-e6c0-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/f139/live/366392d0-e6c0-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/f139/live/366392d0-e6c0-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/f139/live/366392d0-e6c0-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/f139/live/366392d0-e6c0-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f139/live/366392d0-e6c0-11f0-9c0e-1da354c8d14e.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="BBC/Koh Ewe A young man in a grey sweatshirt and grey pants handles a pile of durians. " class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC/Koh Ewe Can Hainan unseat Raub within the durian provide chain?

That's nonetheless a distant dream. Hainan's first home-grown durians hit the market with a lot fanfare in 2023, however accounted for lower than 1% of China's durian consumption that 12 months.

However the best way Uncle Factor sees it, "Hainan has already succeeded in its experiment... If they've their very own provide and begin importing much less, our market shall be affected."

He shrugs it off for now: "That's not one thing we are able to fear about. All that we are able to do is take excellent care of our farms and increase yields."

Ask anybody else in Raub about Hainan's quest, and your query shall be swatted away with a smug comeback: they're nonetheless no match for Malaysian durians.