Indonesia's durian exports to China worth $8 billion

Indonesia, one of the world's leading durian producers and exporters, aims to increase the value of durian agriculture across the country, especially for the Chinese market. In order to achieve this goal, Indonesia plans to conduct further research on the durian, nicknamed the "king of fruits", and expand its growing areas. Recently, Indonesia's Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut visited China to deepen bilateral trade. He recently took to his official social media accounts to emphasize the potential value of durian exports to China, which could reach $8 billion. Amid the growing demand for exotic fruits in the Chinese market, the Indonesian government reached an agreement with the Beijing Genome Institute (BGI) to conduct a study to ensure the export of high-quality durians as one of the steps to achieve the goal. The government has established a durian plantation covering about 100 hectares in North Sumatra and West Papua provinces, and plans to build more plantations in other provinces, including Central Sulawesi. These places can be planted with durian trees, and these durians can produce the durians that the Chinese market needs. Last year, Indonesia produced 1.85 million tons of durians, more than Java's total production of 50%, according to the Central Statistical Office.East Java is the largest durian-producing region, with more than 480,000 tons produced last year.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade reported that in 2022, Indonesia exported durians to China valued at US$4.5 billion, and in 2023, the value increased to US$6.7 billion. The Director General of National Export Development at the Ministry of Trade said in early April that the value of its exports could increase further, estimated at around US$7 billion, as China's interest in durians grows. Over the past few years, the government has encouraged farmers to plant durian trees as the fruit has become one of the valuable commodities. Five years ago, President Joko asked oil palm farmers across the country to diversify their business into planting durian trees as he believed durian had better prospects than crude palm oil in the international market. Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil, and the president's advice came amid low demand and falling prices for crude palm oil on the global market, as demand for durian is high in China but most of the supply does not come from Indonesia.