06-16-2021, 09:34 AM
![[Image: musang-king-durian-bernama-1.jpg]](https://s3media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/musang-king-durian-bernama-1.jpg)
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian durians have topped fruit and vegetable presales at a big Chinese retail festival, showing the pulling power of the pungent delicacy.
The top-selling variety at JD.com’s 618 festival – China’s second-largest shopping event after Alibaba’s Singles’ Day — was the Sultan durian from Pahang, according to local media that cited data from the e-commerce giant. Sales have even exceeded that of ice cream and peaches.
Imports of fresh durians quadrupled to US$2.3 billion last year from 2017, according to United Nations data, and they overtook cherries to become the country’s No. 1 fruit import by value in 2019.
Though “DurioTourism’”, where Chinese tourists visit Malaysian farms, is currently at a halt due to travel restrictions, durian diplomacy is still going strong. MAPC Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s largest durian supplier that exports about 90% of its fruit to China, has set up seven centres to promote the Musang King variety in second- and third-tier Chinese cities over the past year.
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