Chinese food lovers have shown an increasing appreciation and a steadily growing demand for durian in the last few years. This has, of course, caused excitement in durian producing countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, but at the same time it has caused worries. The growing Chinese demand for durian leads to price increase and supply shortages. There is also an increase in durian-related crime in Southeast Asian countries. Now, investors from Singapore use large-scale enclosures around durian plantations in Malaysia. Chinese brokers travel to durian orchards as much as one year in advance to sign purchase agreements.
Some plantations offer a durian experience to Chinese tourists. Not only can the tourists taste different durians, but they can also personally enjoy the pleasure of the durian harvest in plantations in Malaysia and Thailand. Not only did the popularity of fresh durian grow in recent years, other durian-derived products such as cakes and candies have also become more popular. One company in Kuala Lumpur stated that the number of durian freighters to China doubled in one year.
Source: Global Times
