BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- When durian season arrives, it makes a grand entrance to China via railway wagon, cold-chain container and express vessel, bringing with it a fruit whose distinctive aroma may divide opinion, but whose commercial appeal is unmistakable.
In the space of about 24 hours from the morning of April 25, three "durian express" vessels carrying 356 containers and more than 6,300 tonnes of fresh Thai durians arrived at Nansha Port in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. The fruit will be distributed across China in time to add to supplies for the upcoming May Day holiday. Since April 15, Nansha Customs has supervised the import of more than 9,500 tonnes of fresh durians.
The railway picture is just as telling. From Jan. 1 to April 26, the China-Laos Railway transported 50,300 tonnes of imported durians, up 94.2 percent year on year, according to China Railway Kunming Group. The figures show not only that Chinese consumers are buying more durians, but also that the supply routes serving this growing demand are becoming faster and more efficient.
Durian has long occupied an unusual place in China's fruit market. For devoted buyers, it is the "king of fruits," rich, creamy and worth paying for. For others, its powerful smell remains a barrier.
Yet that traditional divide is narrowing as durians move beyond boutique supermarkets and first-tier urban consumers. Better cold-chain logistics, more efficient cross-border supply chains and the spread of e-commerce have brought durians into community group-buying channels, lower-tier cities and county-level markets.
That expansion has made China the center of gravity for the global durian trade. Customs data show that China imported about 1.87 million tonnes of fresh durians in 2025, making it the world's most important consumer market for the fruit. Industry participants say the consumer base has grown rapidly. Rising incomes, larger supply and improved cold-chain infrastructure have all helped enlarge the market.
For ports and railways, the challenge is speed, as fresh fruit is an unforgiving cargo. At Mohan railway port, the core hub for China-Laos Railway international freight, authorities have deepened coordination with Laos' Boten port, streamlined customs procedures and worked to keep cross-border logistics flowing.
Railway departments, customs and companies have formed special teams for fresh-fruit transport. Green channels for inspection give priority to entry, inspection and testing, linking arrival, clearance and transfer more smoothly and sharply reducing the time fruit spends at the port.
Nansha, China's largest seaborne port for durian imports, is making a similar effort. As Southeast Asia's main producing areas enter peak season, its durian imports are expected to keep rising between April and June.
Yet scale has not reduced scrutiny. For the concentrated arrivals in late April, customs officers carried out targeted inspection and quarantine, checking for harmful organisms and taking samples for pesticide residues, heavy metals and other safety indicators.
"Visible pest risks can be checked by the eye, but invisible microbes and contaminants must also be strictly guarded against," said Lin Xiaojing, an official with Nansha Customs.
As a result, the market is expanding not only in size but also in standards. Niti Pratoomvongsa, commercial counsellor at the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said Chinese consumers are shifting from a focus on price toward a stronger concern for quality, food safety, production standards and traceability. This change is raising the bar for competition.
Southeast Asian suppliers are responding. As planting areas expand in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, industry participants say the competition among Southeast Asian suppliers in China is still being reshaped.
Chinese capital and business operators are also moving further upstream. Liu Junhong, a Guangxi businessman who shifted from engineering and agricultural irrigation into durians five years ago, has inspected markets in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and invested in a planting project in Cambodia's Kampot Province.
"The industry is still expanding rapidly, but already entering a period of structural differentiation," Liu said. His answer is to focus on higher-end varieties such as "Black Thorn" to avoid future homogenized competition.
Growth, however, does not guarantee easy profits for everyone. Wang Zhengbo, chairman of Guangxi TWT Supply Chain Management, a long-time trading company specializing in Thai durian, noted that the durian chain is long and layered, from planting to retail, with costs accumulating at each stage. Large traders and those controlling upstream resources are relatively stable, while some smaller players are more exposed to price volatility.
At the production end, Nicholas Lui, a durian grower from Malaysia's Pahang state, said rising fertilizer, fuel and labor costs, together with stricter procurement standards, are narrowing margins.
Even so, the direction of travel remains clear. China's market is widely seen by industry participants as far from saturated, but it is becoming more selective. Poor-quality fruit, uneven standards and inefficient supply chains will find it harder to survive.
The boom is also creating new forms of consumption. In Nansha, a port-side fresh market model allows fruit to be unloaded, containers opened and products sold directly. A durian carnival scheduled for April 30 will offer Thai Monthong, Malaysian Musang King and other varieties to consumers. In producing countries, some businesses are exploring durian tourism, combining picking experiences with agricultural travel. Processed products, from frozen pulp to cakes and snacks, are also extending the value chain.
The fruit's flavor may not have changed. But from orchard to port, railway and dinner table, the business around it is becoming faster, stricter and more regional. For China and Southeast Asia, the durian season is no longer just a seasonal rush. It is a vivid example of how consumer demand can reshape the routes, standards and economics of a whole supply chain. ■
