Philippines Ready To Export Frozen Durians to China

According to a Philippine media report, Emmanuel Belviz, president of the Davao City Durian Industry Council, recently announced that three exporters are currently seeking approval to export frozen durians via China’s Import Food Enterprise Registration system. The three exporters were named as Eng Seng Food Products, SQ Fresh Fruit Corporation, and D’ Farmers Market Fruits and Pastries Center.

In August 2024, the Bureau of Import and Export Food Safety of China’s General Administration of Customs implemented a major change to its requirements for frozen fruit imports, removing the need for quarantine access management for frozen fruit products. This adjustment enabled various frozen fruits, including frozen durians from any region worldwide, to enter the Chinese market without the usual quarantine entry procedures.

Belviz explained that direct exports of frozen durians to China were previously not permitted, with shipments primarily routed through Thailand before being sent onward to China. Now that restrictions on frozen fruit imports have been lifted, numerous exporters have applied to ship their frozen durians directly to China. For the moment, however, Thailand remains the largest buyer of frozen durians from the Philippines, with approximately 3,130 metric tons shipped there this year, followed by South Korea (186 metric tons) and Malaysia (26 metric tons).

Data from the Davao City Durian Industry Council indicate that Davao’s fresh durian exports to China reached 9,295 metric tons in the first nine months of this year, while 56 metric tons were sent to Singapore and just 184 kilograms were sent to Japan. Total exports were reported as 9,351 metric tons, more than double the 4,088 metric tons exported in all of 2023.

Davao’s durian season is currently ongoing, with harvesting still underway in high-altitude regions. If exporters successfully complete their customs registration, they will be able to export more frozen durians once the season concludes.

At a media forum in mid-October, when discussing fresh durian exports to China, Belviz emphasized that durians must not be dropped to the ground during harvesting to prevent damage to their thorns and bruising of the fruit. Exporters should also ensure that the durian pulp is neither overripe nor decayed to avoid complaints from buyers.

The Philippines ranks sixth globally in terms of fresh durian exports, with the Davao Region contributing 78% of the country’s total durian output. The region produced 60,331 metric tons of durians in 2023, an increase of approximately 2.9% from the previous year.

Image: Pixabay

This article was based on a Chinese article. Read the original article.