Inaugural flight of Malaysian fresh durian lands in Henan

　　On August 25, a welcome ceremony was held at the north cargo area of Zhengzhou airport for the inaugural arrival of fresh durians arriving from Kuala Lumpur. The chartered flight brought 1,500 boxes of durians, totaling 15 tons and including 10 varieties, marking the first entry of Malaysian fresh durians into China.

　　This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia. To commemorate this milestone, China'sGeneral Administration of Customsand Malaysia'sMinistry of Agriculture and Food Security have signed theProtocol on Plant Quarantine Requirements for the Export of Malaysian Fresh Durian to China, officially paving the way for Malaysian fresh durians to enter the Chinese market.

　　Malaysia is the fourth nationapproved to export fresh durians to China. Thailand was the first to gain thisapproval from China'sGeneral Administration of Customs in 2003to directly export fresh durians to China in 2003, followed by Vietnam in 2022 and the Philippines in 2023.

　　Unlike fresh durians from Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, the Malaysian fresh durians imported this time are tree-ripened, meaning they naturally ripenon the tree and fall off.Zhu Peilin, a Malaysian durian merchant, explained that the tree-ripened durians continue to ferment, causing the shell to crack after approximately 72 hours, which affects the texture and flavor of the fruit. "As a result, the tree-ripened durians have extremely high logistical requirements, with each stage of the process meticulously coordinated."

　　Achartered flight toHenanenables fresh durians to be transported from Malaysian orchards to the Chinese consumer market withinjust 36 hours.Several hoursafter being picked directlyfrom trees in Malaysian orchards, the durians are flown to Zhengzhou airportby Zhongyuan Longhao Airlines. From there, they will bequickly distributedby plane, high-speed rail,or refrigerated truck to major cities across the country, reaching consumers' tables.

　　China is the largest importer and consumer of durians in the world. In 2023, the Chinese consumed at least 500 million durians, accounting for about 90percentof global consumption.

　　China is also the largest export market for Malaysian durians, though previously it was limited to frozen durians and related products. According to data from the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, in 2022, the value of Malaysian durian exports was 1.14 billion Malaysian Ringgit, with exports to China amounting to 887 million Ringgit, accounting for 77.8percentof the total.

　　The small durian further strengthens the economic and trade relations between China and Malaysia and also highlights the dynamic growthof Henan's air cargo sector. From January to July this year, Zhengzhou's air cargo port saw a total of 1,334.07 tons of imported fruit, representing a year-on-year increase of 242.6percent.