China, as the world’s largest importer and consumer of durians, has seen its import data rise year after year.
In 2024, China’s durian import volume soared to 15.6 billion kilograms, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%, and the import value also reached a historical high of USD 6.99 billion, an increase of 4.1%.
Behind this enormous figure is the growing enthusiasm of domestic consumers for durians.
Thailand has long dominated the durian import market, continuously supplying high-quality durians to China with its mature planting technology, stable supply system, and unique climatic conditions.
However, the import structure is quietly changing.
Indonesia, as one of the world’s major durian producers, had a total durian output of 1.85 million tons in 2023.
Its government is making every effort to promote durian exports to the Chinese market.
Officials from Indonesia’s quarantine department recently revealed that they are actively advancing various preparations for the direct shipment of durians to China.
Indonesian durians have their own unique advantages.
The local climate is suitable for durian growth, the labor cost for cultivation is relatively low, and during the harvest season, the supply is abundant and the prices are more affordable.
On Jakarta’s west side “Durian Street,” three local small durians are priced at only about USD 6.14, and they are very popular among consumers.
In the future, once Indonesian durians successfully enter China on a large scale, it will inevitably impact the current import market structure, intensify market competition, and bring about new changes in prices and quality.
Hainan, as the only tropical island province in China, shoulders the important task of developing the domestic durian industry.
The connection between Hainan and durians can be traced back to 1958, when the first durian tree was successfully trial-planted in Baoting.
However, development since then has not been smooth.
After more than 60 years of unremitting exploration by three generations of scientific researchers and growers, China finally welcomed its first batch of domestically grown durians in 2018.
At present, the durian planting area in Hainan Province has reached over 40,000 mu, of which Baoting accounts for nearly 20,000 mu.
In 2024, 4,000 mu of durians in Baoting entered a high-yield period, with per-mu yield values reaching 60,000 to 100,000 yuan, and their economic benefits far exceed those of traditional agriculture.
Planting durians in Hainan is no easy task.
Durians are “delicate” by nature, preferring warm winters and cool summers, with strict humidity control and very high technical requirements for cultivation.
Typhoons, pests, and diseases pose serious threats to their growth.
At the large-scale plantation base in the Sanya Yucai Ecological Zone, when trial planting was first initiated, problems with soil, pests, and water-fertilizer management occurred frequently.
In the first year, the mortality rate of durian trees exceeded 40%.
To overcome these challenges, the enterprise invited experts from the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hainan University, and other institutions to implement refined management.
Through a series of measures such as improving soil conditions around seedlings, precisely controlling irrigation, and reasonably regulating fruit bearing, labor productivity increased by 60%, and investment in water, fertilizers, and pesticides was reduced by 15%, with the survival rate exceeding 90%.
Today, Hainan’s durian industry has begun to show results.
In 2023, about 1,400 mu of durian in Sanya bore fruit, with a yield of about 50 tons;
In 2024, the fruit-bearing area of durians in Hainan reached about 4,000 mu, with a yield of about 260 tons.
With the continuous improvement of planting technologies and the gradual expansion of planting scale, domestically grown durians are expected to occupy a larger share of the domestic market, providing consumers with more choices.
