The 2023 Global Durian Trade Overview released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows that global exports of durian have increased by more than 10 times in the past decade, from approximately 80000 tons in 2003 to approximately 870000 tons in 2022. The strong growth in import demand in China has driven the expansion of durian trade. Overall, over 90% of global durian exports are supplied by Thailand, with Vietnam and Malaysia each accounting for about 3%, and the Philippines and Indonesia also have small exports. As a major importer of durian, China purchases 95% of global exports, while Singapore purchases approximately 3%.
Durian is a highly valuable crop and one of the most prolific fruits in Southeast Asia. Its export market has been thriving in the past two decades. The latest data shows that global durian trade reached a peak of 930000 tons in 2021. The income growth and rapidly changing consumer preferences of importing countries (most importantly China), as well as the improvement of cold chain technology and significant reduction in transportation time, all contribute to the expansion of trade. Although there is no exact production data, the main producers of durian are Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with a total estimated production of 3 million tons per year. So far, Thailand is the main exporter of durian, accounting for 94% of the world’s average exports between 2020 and 2022. The remaining trade volume is almost entirely supplied by Vietnam and Malaysia, each accounting for about 3%. The durian produced in Indonesia is mainly supplied to the domestic market.
As a major importer of durian, China purchased an average of approximately 740000 tons of durian annually from 2020 to 2022, equivalent to 95% of the total global imports. The vast majority of durians imported from China come from Thailand, but in recent years, imports from Vietnam have also increased.
In response to the rapidly expanding demand, the indicative average trade unit price of durian has steadily increased over the past decade. At the import level from 2021 to 2022, the annual average unit price has reached around $5000 per ton, several times the average unit price of bananas and major tropical fruits. Durian is considered a unique delicacy in China and is receiving increasing attention from consumers. In December 2021, the opening of the China Laos high-speed railway further promoted the growth of China’s imports of durian from Thailand. It takes several days/weeks to transport goods by truck or ship. As a transit link between Thailand’s export goods and China, the China Laos Railway only needs more than 20 hours to transport goods by train. This enables durian and other fresh agricultural products from Thailand to be transported to the Chinese market in a shorter time, thereby improving the freshness of the products. Recent industry reports and preliminary data on monthly trade flows indicate that China’s durian imports increased by approximately 60% in the first eight months of 2023.
In the international market, durian is still considered a novel or niche product. The high perishability of fresh durian makes it difficult to transport fresh products to distant markets, which means that import requirements related to plant quarantine standards and product safety often cannot be met. Therefore, the majority of durian sold globally is processed and packaged into frozen durian, dried durian, jam, and dietary supplements. Consumers lack awareness of durian, and its high price has become an obstacle for durian to further expand into a broader international market. Overall, compared to the export volume of other tropical fruits, especially bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and avocados, their importance is relatively low.
However, given the exceptionally high average export price of durian, it reached an average global trade volume of approximately $3 billion per year between 2020 and 2022, far ahead of fresh mangoes and pineapples. In addition, the export of fresh durian from Thailand to the United States has more than doubled in the past decade, reaching an average of about 3000 tons per year between 2020 and 2022, with an average annual import value of about 10 million US dollars, which also proves that durian is becoming increasingly popular outside of Asia. Overall, the average annual export value of durian from Thailand between 2021 and 2022 was 3.3 billion US dollars, making it the third largest agricultural export commodity in Thailand, after natural rubber and rice. The average annual export value of these two commodities between 2021 and 2022 was 3.9 billion US dollars and 3.7 billion US dollars, respectively.
These numbers indicate that if highly perishable durians can be efficiently managed in terms of quality assurance, post harvest processing, and transportation, with a focus on cost-effectiveness, durian trade can bring huge business opportunities to exporters, including low-income countries. In high-income markets such as the European Union and the United States, the market potential largely depends on making it easier for consumers to purchase this fruit and strengthening consumer awareness.