Chinese officials travel to Indonesia to audit production and packhouses
Indonesia’s durian industry is edging closer to gaining access to the lucrative China market as Chinese officials conducted audits in March as part of the pathway to a protocol.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), local media in Indonesia reported officials from China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) travelled to Indonesia to assess local durian plantations and packhouses.
The inspections are likely to determine whether “durian export cooperation” can proceed, a local horticulture authority told Indonesia’s national Antara news agency.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture has reportedly designated 422 villages around the archipelago to focus on cultivating durians.
“They have the positive hope for those durians to be exported to China,” said Nukila Evanty, an Indonesia-based member of the Asia Centre research institute’s advisory board.
With the majority of Indonesia’s durian production sold domestically, it doesn’t have the export supply chains developed like some of the current suppliers to the China market.
“For export, I don’t think the standard quality is enough,” Mohamad Reza Tirtawinata, director of the Nusantara Durian Foundation, told SCMP. “To do exports, you have to have regulations and export permits – a lot of things to do.”
Instead, frozen durian may be a more manageable option, and Indonesia could see access to China staggered, following a path similar to Malaysia which gained access for frozen durian in 2018 and fresh durian in 2024.
Lim Chin Khee, an adviser to the Durian Academy, a Malaysian institution that trains local growers, told SCMP that Indonesian suppliers will also face strong competition in China.
“Thailand and Malaysia already have established supply chains and brand recognition in China, so Indonesia would need to differentiate itself to compete effectively,” Lim said.
