HONG KONG — China's durian imports rose 47%, year on year, in the first half of 2026, with Thailand and Malaysia posting particularly strong gains, according to customs data, as Southeast Asian exporters offloaded a glut of the fruit that had sparked a price drop.
Thailand exported nearly US$3.79 billion worth of the pungent spiky fruit shipped to China in the first half of 2026, the Chinese customs data showed, taking an 81% share of the market. Thai shipments reached $2.56 billion in the first half of 2025, also nearly 81% of the total.
Vietnam came in second place over the first six months of 2026 with $846 million, or 18%, of the total inbound shipments.
Thai durians maintain an edge in preference for Chinese consumers, with a mature logistics and quality-control infrastructure that has given the fruit a sterling reputation. Vietnam, which received approval to ship fresh durians to China in 2022, ramped up exports last year but has been stung by occasional quality-control issues.
Malaysia, a relative newcomer in the Chinese fresh durian market, shipped $30.26 million worth of the fruit to China in the first six months of this year, up 342% compared with the same period in 2025, the data showed.
The import volume in the first half of 2026, from all countries, was 1.07 million tonnes, up from 708,000 in the first six months of last year.
Expansion of China-Laos Railway services and Chinese e-commerce have elevated Southeast Asia's durian exports to China - the world's biggest market with 90% of all durians consumed.
Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are "experiencing an oversupply" during the main durian harvest season - in progress now - as orchards reach full production and grow faster than demand, said Lim Chin Khee, an adviser to the Durian Academy, a Malaysian institution that trains growers.
"Demand from China remains strong in the long term, but it has not expanded at the same pace as production, resulting in downward pressure on prices during the peak season," Lim said. Southeast Asian media outlets estimated price drops in China of 14 to 20% year-to-date.
"Wholesale prices in China have softened due to increased supply from multiple origins, higher inventories and more cautious consumer spending."
Agricultural officials in Malaysia, where Lim said that a maturation of durian trees planted six to 10 years ago was exacerbating the glut, have asked China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) to open a land-based shipping route, the Southeast Asian country's state news agency Bernama reported on July 2.
The land route would shorten delivery times.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has separately promised durian growers in the southern state of Johor that he would discuss falling durian prices with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a visit to Beijing in August.
The Vietnamese government is also still working with China to boost durian exports by improving quality, said Nguyen Thanh Trung, a political scientist at Fulbright University in Vietnam.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, GAC deputy director Wang Jun pointed to durians as an example of how expanding import channels had boosted consumer choices.
"Sources of imported durians have continued to expand," Wang said. "The fruit is now widely available at neighbourhood fruit shops, offering consumers more choices at more affordable prices."
.png?w=600)
