By admin The Southeast Asian country views significant potential in China’s large durian market, yet it must initially appeal to discerning consumers.
Cambodia has joined the ranks of other Southeast Asian countries entering the profitable Chinese durian market, aiming to carve out a share from the dominant positions held by Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
China’s General Administration of Customs began in late April allowing shipments of fresh durians from Cambodia that comply with food safety laws, after President Xi Jinping signed a broader agreement with officials in Phnom Penh earlier in the month.
However, Cambodia must put in efforts to attract Chinese consumers — who are crucial.
the biggest global durian marketplace
– where enthusiasts of fruits can enjoy strong-smelling, spiked durians sourced from various parts of Southeast Asia along with a
growing crop of home-grown options
, analysts said.
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As Cambodia continues to establish itself in the global marketplace,” stated Lim Chin Khee, an advisor for the Durian Academy—a Malaysian organization dedicated to educating local farmers—”it does not yet possess the established branding that Thailand’s Monthong or Malaysia’s elite Musang King durians enjoy.
Zhao Yu, a 38-year-old resident of Shanghai and an avid durian consumer, informed the Post that he would initially spend some time getting acquainted with the Cambodian variety before altering his purchasing behaviors.
However, some Chinese consumers express enthusiasm about trying Cambodia’s Ah Khak durian variety, as stated by Rajiv Biswas, the CEO of research firm Asia-Pacific Economics based in Singapore.
“Given that more (Southeast Asian) nations have satisfied China’s phytosanitary requirements, Chinese consumers now enjoy access to a wider selection of premium durians,” Biswas noted.
Cambodian farmers can grow durians of similar quality to those produced in Malaysia, according to Lim. He pointed out that foreign investments and technical assistance in Cambodia’s durian industry, mainly from Chinese sources, are aiding in enhancing farming practices.
Thailand has long dominated China’s market, supplying 57 per cent of the US$6.99 billion worth of durians imported into the country last year. Vietnam
was the second-largest supplier
at 38 per cent, while the Philippines and Malaysia sold a combined US$38.2 million, according to Chinese customs data.
Indonesia is also
preparing to start exporting durians
to China, and Laotian grows are “exploring opportunities to enter the Chinese market”, the Lao News Agency reported last year.
Fresh durians sell in China for as much as 200 yuan (US$27.75) for each 6kg (13lb) fruit, with some consumers prizing the fruit so highly that they present durians as gifts during formal occasions.
Cambodian durians already have a “high market value” due to a “labour-intensive” growing process and the limited amount of land suited to cultivation available in the country, according to research published on the travel platform Adventures Cambodia.
China’s decision to allow shipments of durians from Cambodia allows it to cement ties with a Beijing-friendly but relatively low-income part of Southeast Asia, while also boosting the nation’s trade with countries other than the United States amid the trade war, analysts said.
US President Donald Trump’s repeated targeting of Chinese goods with tariffs since 2018 have “accelerated China’s efforts to diversify its trade towards Asean”, Biswas said, referring to the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
During the first quarter of 2025, ASEAN became China’s top trading partner, surpassing the United States, with ASEAN contributing 16.6 percent to China’s overall trade volume, as stated by Biswas.
Last month, Beijing and Phnom Penh reached an agreement to “accelerate” the negotiation and signing of quarantine procedures, enabling Cambodian farmers to increase exports of “high-quality” agricultural goods to China. This was stated in a joint declaration released on April 18th.
Shipments of durians will assist in reducing China’s $12 billion trade surplus with Cambodia, according to Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who specializes in research related to Southeast Asia.
He stated that it was a minor approach to correcting trade imbalances.
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The article initially appeared on the South ChinaMorning Post (www.scmp.com), which serves as the premier source for news coverage of China andAsia.
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