China’s first durian sales just days away after month-long delay due to weather
- Tropical Hainan province’s first major durian harvest reflects challenges facing Chinese growers as they rush to cash in on surging domestic demand
- It will be difficult for consumers to get their hands on the fruit, and the price looks to be about three times higher than imported durian from Southeast Asia
China’s home-grown durians are poised to hit the market in a matter of days, but their limited yields and high prices are not expected to challenge the market share of Southeast Asian importers until large-scale commercial cultivation can be realised, according to state media.
On the southern tropical island of Hainan, the domestically produced durians have been ripening and are primed for their first sales in the market, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
The initial durian harvest is said to span 93.3 hectares (230.6 acres) of flowering plots in the province, but planter Youqi Agricultural Group is cultivating a total of 800 hectares that should support increased yields in the coming years, according to the report.
They are priced at 120 yuan (US$16.80) per kilogram, or about three times the cost of the vast majority of imported durians, according to the “Produce Report” published by Shanghai-based MZ Marketing Communications on Tuesday.
“The price of domestically produced durians won’t go down in the short term, and China will still be dependent on the Southeast Asian market to meet its durian demand,” said Feng Xuejie, director of the Institute of Tropical Fruit Trees at the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.