JAKARTA - Indonesia is known as one of the tropical countries with abundant fruit wealth, including durian which is nicknamed the "king of fruit". With superior local varieties such as durian Montong, Petruk, and Musangking, Indonesia has great potential to penetrate the global market.
Unfortunately, this potential has not been fully exploited optimally, especially for exports to large markets such as China. But now, this opportunity is starting to widen along with the establishment of strategic cooperation between countries.
Durian Indonesia finally got the opportunity to enter the Chinese market after the export agreement for frozen durian in a meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang in late May. The agreement is an important step to expand Indonesia's durian access in the very competitive international market.
"The durian market in China is very large, and this is a golden opportunity for Indonesia to compete in it. The challenge lies in our ability to produce quality products and according to export standards," said Eliza Mardian, a researcher from CORE Indonesia, as quoted by ANTARA.
China is currently listed as the country with the highest durian consumption rate in the world, with total imports reaching 1.5 million tons last year. Unfortunately, Indonesia's contribution to this figure is still very minimal.
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), from nearly 2 million tons of national durian production last year, only 27 tons were successfully sent to the Chinese market. Even in the period January to May 2025, there have been no durian exports to the country.
According to Eliza, the main obstacle faced by Indonesia is not in terms of production, but in aspects of logistics and licensing. The process of shipping fresh durian from Indonesia takes longer than Thailand or Vietnam, so it risks reducing the quality of the fruit when it arrives at its destination.
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Therefore, he encouraged the government to be more active in providing comprehensive support to farmers and durian business actors. This support includes socialization regarding export regulations, ease of obtaining fitosanitari certification, provision of access to financing, to infrastructure development such as cooling warehouses and efficient distribution channels.
On the other hand, the challenges related to licensing are now starting to be resolved. The latest agreement regarding frozen durian exports opens wider doors for Indonesian durian products. In this collaboration, the Indonesian Quarantine Agency acts as a party trusted by Chinese authorities to ensure the safety and quality of products before being sent.
This positive response to export opportunities also came from local governments, especially in Central Sulawesi Province, which made durian a leading agricultural commodity.
In the durian export discussion forum to China which was held on June 4, Central Sulawesi Governor Anwar Hafid expressed his seriousness in developing local durian in order to compete in the global market.
In the forum, the Parigi Moutong Regency Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) also revealed that their area has more than 1,100 hectares of durian land with around 110,000 productive trees. Parigi Moutong has even been equipped with 16 international standard durian containers, making it one of the leading durian production centers in eastern Indonesia.
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