Domestic Durian Imports Decrease by One-Third, Hainan-Produced Durian Begins Market Sales

In the first five months of this year, China's fresh durian imports sharply declined by nearly one-third, with Vietnamese durian experiencing the most significant drop. The primary reason is that after detecting cadmium and alkaline tender yellow in durian imports from Thailand and Vietnam, customs intensified inspections of imported durians.

Customs data released for January-May 2025 shows that the country's fresh durian imports plummeted from 582,300 tons in 2024 to 390,900 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 32.9%. During the same period, durian import value dropped from $2.864 billion to $1.930 billion, a 32.5% decline.

Among fresh durian importing countries, Vietnam was most severely affected, with its exports to China plunging 61.6% in both volume and value. Thailand remains China's primary fresh durian source, with imports decreasing by 21.8% in volume and 24.0% in value.

According to Vietnamese durian industry professionals, many regions lack local fruit testing laboratories, leading to delayed export approvals and repeated rejections at border checkpoints. Meanwhile, Thailand has excelled in establishing farm-level testing facilities and rebuilding market confidence, resulting in minimal export disruption.

While durian imports significantly contracted, Hainan's domestic durian is gradually emerging. This is the third year of large-scale fruiting and batch marketing for Sanya durians, with the first "tree-ripened" batch harvested in late June, and more durians expected to mature by mid-to-late July.

In recent years, Hainan's durian tree survival rate has increased from 30% to over 90%, with current plantation areas reaching approximately 40,000 mu. Beyond expanding cultivation scale, Hainan teams have conducted hybrid breeding, tree dwarfing, off-season fruiting tests, and improved cultivation techniques to develop varieties and technologies suitable for the Hainan region.