It’s durian season, and online, Chinese durian lovers are sharing the fun experience of opening quot;durian blind boxes,quot; betting on the size of the durian flesh inside.
Those with full and rich flesh are called quot;repaying durians,quot; while those with shriveled flesh are called quot;revenge durians,quot; demonstrating the popularity of the fruit among Chinese people.
The tropical fruit, known for its putrid stink, green, large thorns or spikes and high-end price tag, is an indigenous fruit of Southeast Asia, but China is its biggest market, where cakes and pastries made with durian have deep roots in the nation’s cooking culture.
In fact, the fruit is ubiquitous in China quite recently. A few years ago, people who ate durian are mostly from South China. But now, Chinese consumers across the country, from south to north, from women to children, start to become huge fans of durians.
The enthusiasm has also been fueled by e-commerce platforms. From April 1 to mid-May, durian sales on Chinese food delivery platform Meituan surged 711 percent compared to the same period in 2022. Sales in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei Province are up 20 times compared to 2022.
Living up to its reputation of “King of Fruits”, durian is the No 1 imported fruit into China. In 2022, China imported more than 824,000 tons of fresh durians, valued at more than US$4 billion. That was nearly four times the volume seen in 2017, and seven times the value, according to data from China#39;s General Administration of Customs , while between 2015 and 2022, imports of fresh durians to China grew at an aggregated annual rate of 17 percent.
In the first three months of 2023, China’s durian imports continued to increase sharply to 91,400 tons, worth $506.8 million, an increase of 154.3 percent in quantity and 124.6 percent in value compared with the same period 2022.
Durian is most popular among young people, with over 60 percent of the fruit in China being bought by consumers aged 16-35, and consumers are mainly concentrated in China#39;s first-tier cities, according to data released by JD Supermarket in November.
Durian is said to be one of the most expensive fruits in the world. In 2019, the most expensive durian ever sold was auction at $48,000.
This year, Chinese netizens have coined the term quot;durian libertyquot; to describe its not-so affordable price tag. So, what makes this pungent, spiky fruit so expensive?
First, the fruit is only grown in Southeast Asia, which means that it is not readily available in other parts of the world. Second, the fruit is very perishable, so it has to be shipped quickly and carefully, which adds to the cost. Finally, the most important reason, the high demand for durian means that growers can charge a premium for the fruit. By 2026, China#39;s durian market will be worth close to 130 billion yuan in retail sales, a report said.
Competiting for Chinese market
In July 2022, fresh Vietnamese durian was officially allowed to enter the Chinese market. In January 2023, the GAC began to allow the import of fresh durians from the Philippines. Currently, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines are the main suppliers of durian to China.
But for a long time, Thailand had been the absolute beneficiary of this fast-growing market, as only fresh durians from the country were allowed to be imported into China, while a smaller high-end market share was dominated by frozen durians from Malaysia. The dominance is being challenged in September, when Beijing approved 51 durian growers and 25 durian-packaging companies from Vietnam to export fresh crops to China.
Vietnam’s land border with China makes trade less difficult, which further enhances the competitiveness of its durians – of which the freshness is key to their quality.
The growing market potential for durian in China has pushed cities in Guangxi, which borders Vietnam, to beef up logistics to facilitate imports from its neighbor.
For example, Chongzuo, a border city in Guangxi, is building an advanced logistics centre with cold-chain storage and food-processing facilities to improve the import process, said the city’s development and reform bureau, as the first phase of investment will reach about 1.8 billion yuan and will be put into use by 2025.
The access enhancements will allow Vietnamese durians to reach all parts of China within one to three days, according to local officials and traders who expect durian consumption to further rise as a result.
Durian exports to China would be something big in Vietnam, not only because durian is a high-value export fruit, but also it signifies that China’s huge market is lifting its gate open for more imports of Vietnam’s agricultural products through official channels, not via informal border trade, experts noted. It would also help Vietnamese farmers – who account for a big portion of the country’s population – eye China as a potential market for other agricultural products.
The Philippines is also catching up fast. In less than four months, the Philippines became China’s third approved fresh-durian exporter. A local agriculture official said the industry is expected to generate about US$150 million in income during the first year of trade with China, along with 9,696 direct jobs and 1,126 indirect jobs.
A major importer, Dole Food Co, said that the production season of durian from the Philippines is from February to April and from August to October every year, which can make up for the market left open by the Thai durian.
Still, Thailand represented 96 percent of China#39;s durian imports by value and 95 percent of the total import volume in the past year, according to data provided from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products .
While the majority of durians in the Chinese market are imported, homegrown ones are about to hit the market this June.
China is gearing up for the harvest of its first domestic durian crop this summer after more than four years of cultivation, although it is not expected to challenge Southeast Asia#39;s stranglehold on sales of the pungent smelling fruit.
About 2.45 million kilograms of durian produced on the tropical island of Hainan in southern China will go on sale in June, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
At the Durian Base in Sanya, 93.3 hectares of durian trees are bearing young fruit, with an estimated yield of 116.64 kilograms per hectare and an estimated output value of 6,665 yuan per hectare. It is aiming to construct a durian industrial estate spanning 3,333 hectares within the next three to five years, which is anticipated to generate an output value of 5 billion yuan by 2028.
RCEP boosts SE Asia#39;s agricultural exports
Durian is a fruit that can represent the identity of Southeast Asia, giving the durian trade more cultural and symbolic meanings, as it signifies the special relations between China and the region.
According to Dole Food Co, China is the third-largest durian consumer after Indonesia and Malaysia, and that China is expected to become the largest durian consumer by 2030.
The growth in durian imports has been helped by China#39;s growing trade links with Southeast Asia as access to the vast Chinese market has become easier for exporters in the region. Countries include Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines have stepped up efforts to expand into the Chinese market.
And the preferential tariffs and faster customs clearance under theRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the largest global free trade agreement which entered effect in January 2022, and the deepening of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, have further added to the potential of the business.
Improved infrastructure and connectivity under the Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP also make the transportation of the fruit to China much easier for exporters, propelling the business.
A quot;fruit trainquot; carrying 23 containers of durian and mangosteen arrived in Kunming, Southwest China#39;s Yunnan Province in April, as Thai exporters increasingly turn to the China-Laos Railway for quick access to the Chinese market, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The transportation of durians is a race against time. Currently, goods can reach Kunming in three days after being transported along the China-Laos Railway from Thailand, where more mature durian fruit is exported.
An increasing number of agricultural products from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have gained entry into the Chinese market.
For instance, Vietnam has managed to sharply increase sales of fruit and vegetables following a substantial increase in its formal exports of durian, mango, jackfruit, sweet potato and banana to China, said a local association of produce.
Among top foreign currency earners, including durian, dragon fruit and banana, durian exports are forecast to reach $1 billion this year. Vietnam#39;s fruit and vegetables would likely rise by about 20 percent to $4 billion this year as the country is expected to see exports to China widening to $2.5 billion, according to the Vietnam Fruit amp; Vegetable Association.
China is favoring Vietnamese agricultural products, and the market is increasingly demanding, said the Department of Crop Production under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as China remained the biggest market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetables in the January-May period with $805 million worth of shipments.
Also, in 2022, a wide range of fruits worth $4.41 billion from Thailand were exported to China, with durian, mangosteen and longan being the top three, according to the Thai Ministry of Commerce.
這一屆吃貨，一部分在線下商超搶購“榴蓮盲盒”，一部分蹲守在直播間，等著“3、2、1”開盲盒。
有關榴蓮的話題，在各大熱搜榜單上幾乎沒有下來過。漲價、降價、盲盒、“刺客”......諸多話題詞拼湊出了一幅完整的榴蓮消費圖景。
榴蓮盲盒，并非什么新鮮事物，其實就是“整顆買榴蓮”。因為從外表無法準確地識別出，榴蓮內究竟有幾房肉、肉又有多大，因而這看似普通的消費方式，具備一定的隨機性、驚喜感，也誕生了所謂“報恩榴蓮”“報仇榴蓮”這樣的網絡熱梗——前者比喻果肉飽滿的榴蓮，后者剛好相反。
生鮮電商平臺也適時推出了榴蓮盲盒產品，甚至上線了榴蓮促銷季活動，從供給、價位、品質把控、配送時效等方面滿足網友“開盲盒”需求。4月初到5月中旬，美團買菜上的榴蓮銷量增長非常明顯，對比去年同期整體增長在711%左右，其中上海、武漢兩地的銷量，對比去年更是增長達40倍和20倍以上。
叮咚買菜也同樣銷情火爆。相較去年，今年叮咚買菜調整了榴蓮的品類結構，主打高品質的馬來西亞樹熟貓山王，銷量上來看，今年1—5月份叮咚買菜馬來西亞樹熟貓山王銷量相較于去年增加了近20倍。
此外，如今餐飲市場里烤榴蓮、榴蓮蛋糕、咖啡、奶茶層出不窮……榴蓮制品的走俏，本身也是榴蓮作為水果的熱度上升的側寫。
這一屆愛玩榴蓮盲盒的年輕人，也渴望實現“榴蓮自由”。
榴蓮是我國進口額最大的水果。從2017年至今，我國榴蓮的進口量、進口額都穩定上升。2017年年進口量還僅為22.44萬噸，而到了2021年，這一數字已達到82.15萬噸，翻至近四倍。
今年中國進口的榴蓮量是遠超往年。據中國海關總署數據，2023年第一季度，全國進口鮮榴蓮一共9.1萬噸，是近五年同期進口數量最高的一年，甚至超過疫情暴發前的2019年第一季度的8萬噸。2023年4月份，由于逐漸接近夏季，全國進口鮮榴蓮一共22.07萬噸，遠超2019年4月份的12.7萬噸。
供不應求，價格就會上升。前陣子，“榴蓮漲價”的話題上了熱搜，各地消費者根據對當地榴蓮價格情況的觀察，得出榴蓮變貴的結論。而從宏觀數據來看，榴蓮確實變貴了。
廣州江南市場是亞洲最大的果蔬交易市場，全國幾乎一半左右的進口水果交易都發生在這里。從廣州江南市場近期發布的價格指數來看，泰國進口榴蓮批發均價的最低行情出現在4月25日，為40.59元/公斤；而在5月5日—5月11日，泰國進口榴蓮的均價上漲到45元/公斤左右。
電商平臺上，榴蓮價格也有所抬升。目前，天貓超市的泰國金枕榴蓮6—7斤裝售價為239.9元，7—8斤是279.9元。有網友反映，比半個月前的定價均貴了20元左右。
客觀來看，榴蓮價格受季節、物流、匯率等多方因素影響。專家解釋，四月份是泰國榴蓮的大規模上市期，供給充分，商家出貨積極，價格因此較低。而五月中旬以來接近泰國榴蓮東部產區的尾季，產能收縮，商家放緩銷售節奏，價格自然會有所回升。而站在更長的時間周期上，榴蓮的價格整體是上行的，因為國內消費者對榴蓮的消費需求也一直在上升，榴蓮“熱帶水果之王”稱號可謂當之無愧。
RCEP紅利助推榴蓮貿易
6月2日，也就是今天，RCEP對菲律賓正式生效，補全了最后一塊“拼圖”。這標志著RCEP對15個成員國全面生效，全球最大的自貿區將進入全面實施的新階段。《區域全面經濟伙伴關系協定》，也就是RCEP，是全球人口最多、成員結構最多元、經貿規模最大、最具發展潛力的自貿協定。
得益于RCEP的生效實施、通關流程和物流運輸管理優化等利好條件，榴蓮正迅速成為中國市場上最受歡迎的進口水果之一，榴蓮銷售持續走熱為大批服務于水果進口及零售的商家帶來新機遇。東盟國家，特別是越南，對華榴蓮供應量增幅可觀，市場普遍預期中國與東盟國家水果貿易前景將更加廣闊。
全世界范圍內，今年以來泰國榴蓮的份額也減少了3.9%，其競爭國主要為馬來西亞、菲律賓和越南。
2022年7月，中國海關總署發布公告，允許符合相關要求的越南鮮食榴蓮進口。2023年1月7日海關總署又發布公告，允許符合相關要求的菲律賓鮮食榴蓮進口。4月7日，第一批菲律賓榴蓮空運抵達上海，這意味著菲律賓新鮮榴蓮對華出口的正式啟動。4月20日，海運的榴蓮也抵達中國市場。
目前，中國已成為僅次于印度尼西亞和馬來西亞的全球第三大榴蓮消費國。在以中高收入家庭是消費主力的“追捧”下，榴蓮進口量趕超原來的“頂流水果”車厘子。
對消費者來說是好事。過去，談榴蓮必說“金枕”，這是泰國的代表品種，也一度成為榴蓮的代名詞。但今年以來，多名榴蓮市場從業者表示，菲律賓的普雅、越南的干堯都已進入了中國市場，且品質不錯。
據介紹，2022年，中國進口的榴蓮中有78萬噸來自泰國。一位中國水果零售商解釋說，“泰國榴蓮很貴，但更美味、更飽滿，而越南榴蓮因為其價格便宜迅速受到歡迎。”隨著來自越南和東南亞其他國家的榴蓮進口量不斷攀升，泰國榴蓮在中國市場上的主導地位開始受到挑戰，馬來西亞和菲律賓也希望擴大對華榴蓮出口。
對榴蓮產地來說，這是生意分流。但對消費者而言，競爭帶來的供給的豐富與多元，讓榴蓮的品質更穩定，最主要的讓產地們把榴蓮價格“打下來”。今后，RCEP將進一步推動榴蓮貿易的發展，通過全球規模最大的自由貿易協定達成的交易或將使印尼等東盟國家成為中國的主要榴蓮供應國。
值得一提的是，榴蓮巨大的市場需求推動國產榴蓮發展，《2023-2029年中國榴蓮行業市場供需規模及投資前景預測報告》中提到，近年來海南榴蓮產業化發展初具規模。2024年海南榴蓮有望批量上市，年供應能力達到4.5萬噸—7.5萬噸，隨著海南榴蓮產業化的推進，國內榴蓮自給率有望提升。
據三亞市農業農村局介紹，未來，三亞計劃要種植5萬畝榴蓮。按照畝收3500斤計算，未來5萬畝的產能或將達到8萬噸。這對于我國的榴蓮供給端來講，是不小的補充。
進口品種豐富中國人的“果籃子”
享受到RCEP紅利的當然也不僅是榴蓮貿易。從柬埔寨龍眼，到越南百香果，再到菲律賓榴蓮，越來越多周邊國家的水果走進中國市場，擺上了中國消費者的餐桌。這背后都離不開RCEP的助推。
RCEP區域是全球重要的農業生產地，匯聚了全球主要的大米、棕櫚油、橡膠、水產品等生產地。2022年1月1日，RCEP正式生效。標志著區域內90%以上的貨物貿易將逐步實現零關稅。協定生效一年多來，中國與RCEP成員國之間的農產品貿易熱火朝天。
據官方數據，2022年中國與RCEP14個成員國進出口12.95萬億元人民幣，同比增長7.5%，占中國外貿進出口總值的30.8%。與此同時，貿易便利化水平提升，帶動區域內跨境物流網絡提質升級，加速了產業鏈供應鏈融合。
對東盟國家農產品商戶而言，RCEP生效的重大利好在于關稅降低帶來進口成本下降和出口機遇增多。對于中國消費者而言，跨境貿易的便利化意味著更多元的選擇和更便捷的消費。
今年榴蓮的大量上新，還得益于“一帶一路”標志性工程——中老鐵路的運輸保障。
自從泰國榴蓮搭上了中老鐵路的“快車”，運輸到中國的時間大大縮短。以前通過海運需要大約7天時間、公路運輸大約5天，自從有了中老鐵路，榴蓮從泰國運到中國昆明只需3天。泰國媒體報道，從泰國瑪達普站開往中國廣州的“榴蓮班列”，已打破從泰國運輸水果至中國所需時間的最快紀錄，運輸途中損耗的概率也顯著降低。
物流效率、冷鏈工藝的提升，使得榴蓮在國內的供給愈加充分了起來。中老鐵路的開通為泰國榴蓮出口提供了更便捷的運輸方式，從而增加了榴蓮的供應量并降低了運輸成本，對榴蓮銷量的增長起到了促進作用。
同樣，在老撾萬象，滿載著榴蓮、龍眼、椰青等夏季時令水果的專列從萬象火車站發車，經中老鐵路入境后通過冷鏈集裝箱運抵成都、重慶，再集散發往各地。這條跨境通道的順利打通，可將運輸時效提升一倍以上，大大縮短跨境水果運輸的時間并降低成本。
截至今年6月1日，中老鐵路累計運輸進口水果2.3萬噸，貨值約5.6億元，大大豐富了中國家庭的“水果籃子”。據了解，今年中老鐵路進境熱帶水果運輸旺季將持續至6月底，預計今年榴蓮、山竹、龍眼等東南亞熱帶水果運量有望突破3萬噸。
Executive Editor: Sonia YU
Editor: LI Yanxia
Host: Stephanie LI
Writer: Stephanie LI
Sound Editor: Stephanie LI
Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni
Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.
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策劃、編輯:李艷霞
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