By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 1: China remains a major durian export market due to high demand, and a big market for Malaysia compared to demand from other countries, reveals Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.
“Imagine if only 10 per cent of China’s population eats durian. We grow a lot but not enough to export there,” he said during the oral Question-and-Answer session at the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur today, as reported by TVS today.
He was answering additional questions from Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (Perikatan Nasional-Kubang Kerian), who wanted to know about other durian export markets, that the government is focusing on.
Mohamad elaborated that countries in the Middle East are currently still less fond of durian, causing exports to be small.
“They (Arab market) cannot even smell durian, neither can Europe (although) it is not denied that the staff of European embassies in Malaysia eat durian.
“In China, the number of big durian eaters (reaches) hundreds of millions and her people can afford to spend on durian,” he said.
Meanwhile, responding to questions from Chow Yu Hui (Pakatan Harapan-Raub), who wanted to know about the process and efforts by the ministry to speed up exporting fresh durians to China and the constraints faced, Mohamad said that his ministry had implemented five initiatives.
He explained that the ministry, through Department of Agriculture (DOA), had always ensured that high-value local fruits could be exported to overseas markets.
“Efforts to export fresh durian fruit from Malaysia to China have started since March 3, 2023 after access to the fresh jackfruit market was successfully obtained from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC),” he said.
To speed up the process of gaining access to the fresh durian export market in China, Mohamad said, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) and DOA are in ongoing negotiations with GACC.
“We have also signed a joint statement between KPKM and GACC on October 6, 2023, to strengthen the commitment to speed up the market access of agricultural products including fresh durian to China,” he said.
In addition, he explained, GACC had visited durian farms in Melaka on October 7, 2023, and Malaysia had received a visit by a Pest Risk Analysis team from China to three selected durian farms in Tapah, Perak, and Batu Pahat and Tangkak, Johor.
“The fifth initiative that KPKM signed was the Protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Fresh Durian Fruit from Malaysia to China between KPKM and GACC on June 19, 2024 during the official visit of the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Premier Li Qiang to Malaysia in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Diplomatic Relations between Malaysia-China,” he said. — DayakDaily
