Durian Diplomacy - A Fruitful Gift From One Premier to Another

Durian - The King of Fruits

The durian season is here again in Malaysia and the local people just go gaga over this uniquely tropical fruit which is fondly acclaimed as "The King of Fruits".

And one of the durian biggest fan is the Malaysian Prime Minister who deemed it very appropriate and "fruitful" to present 200 durians as a special gift to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. This was a follow-up to Premier Wen's official visit to Malaysia last April. One of the "fruitful" outcomes of his brief visit was that China finally agreed to allow Malaysian fruits (including durians) to be exported to China. Malaysian fruits had been barred from entering China since 2003 following a deadlock in talks over market entry.

It is definitely very fruitful for the bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. Since 2008, Malaysia has been China's largest trade partner among ASEAN members in three years consecutively and China has been Malaysia's largest trade partner for two years. In 2010, the bilateral trade volume reached US$74.2 billion, up by 42.8%. Presently, Malaysia produced 300 million tonnes of durians yearly worth an estimated RM1.3bil. and durian exports to China would be a big windfall or "durian runtuh" for local durian farmers and traders.

The good news is that the Malaysian durians are a big hit among Chinese nationals and will give the Thai durians a spiky fight. Thailand has dominated the durian trade in China for more than three decades. Now, Malaysia's popular durian cultivars (or commonly known as varieties) such as D24 and D197 are exported directly to Shanghai to be distributed to other big cities in China.

The D24 or Sultan

D 24 originated from Bukit Merah, Perak and is sometimes called "Sultan" by the locals. This is the most sought-after durian and dearly loved by almost all durian-lovers. Each fruit is about 1-2 kg, almost oval shape with thick, light green husk. The flesh is yellow, thick, firm, smooth, sweet and nutty with a slightly bitter taste. All new-comers to the durian should try this first before going to the the creamy and more sweet and bitter taste of the D197.

D197 or Musang King

D197 is also known as Raja Kunyit, Musang King, and Mau Shan Wang or Cat Mountain King. This clone is from Tanah Merah, Kelantan. Fruit shape is oval to ellipsoid and has a light green husk. It has a thick, golden yellow flesh, very smooth with little or no fibres. It has a sticky and creamy texture, and sweet and bitter taste.

The Musang King packaged in foam trays wrapped with PVC film

The Musang King or Mau Shan Wang is the most popular and expensive durian cultivar at present and the price is about RM30-35 per kg locally. In China, it is reported to be sold at 200 yuan or about RM100 for 2 segments of D197 durian pulp packaged in foam trays wrapped with PVC film.