China’s home-grown durians are booming—but can they compete with Southeast Asia?

Based in the island province of Hainan, the Hainan Youqi Agricultural Company boasts more than 200,000 durian trees in the locality, making it the first and biggest durian grower in China.

Since commercial durian farming in China began gaining traction in 2018, Hainan – the country’s sole tropical province – has been the focal point of production due to its climate, which is suitable for growing the fruit.

Last year, Youqi’s young trees produced 260 tons of durians, quadrupling the yield from their first harvest in 2023, which amounted to 50 tons. This year’s harvest is expected to produce 500-600 tons of the fruit, with demand already secured well before the fruits are fully grown, according to Du Baizhong, the firm’s general manager.

"These durians will be completely pre-sold by the time they grow to ping-pong-ball size - the earliest stage when more accurate yield estimates become possible," Du told the South China Morning Post, noting that output will likely rise sharply within the next two years.

"After a decade, each tree should be able to bear more than 100 fruits per harvest."

As the industry expands, investors are directing funds into nascent farms located in Hainan and even beyond that, in the subtropical plains of Yunnan and Guangxi.

Michael Wang, also known as Maikou Wang, a durian farming expert and broker for saplings and land, organized over 800 investment sessions last year for those who want to invest in durian plantations.

According to Wang, the area dedicated to cultivating the stinky fruit in China has doubled annually in recent years.

Still, despite the enthusiasm surrounding China’s durian boom, Du remains realistic about its limits, calling it wishful thinking to expect locally grown fruits to displace imports.

China has broken fresh durian import records for four consecutive years, with 2024 volumes reaching 1.56 million tons, a figure that dwarfs Youqi’s output.

Local growers also cannot match Southeast Asian producers in price due to limited growing experience, unpredictable weather and higher labor costs, according to Du.

Chinese-grown Monthong durians cost twice as much as their Thai counterparts last year.

"Southeast Asia probably doesn’t need to care about China’s small-scale cultivation because we are not a real competitor," Du remarked.

"Even if the entirety of Hainan Island were planted with durians, it still couldn’t meet the massive domestic demand in our country."

While boosting production may lower prices, efforts to do so have faced major hurdles, particularly Hainan’s limited capacity and vulnerability to typhoons, according to Thai news outlet The Nation.

Feng Xuejie, director of the Institute of Tropical Fruit Trees at the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, noted that few places in China offer the specific soil and climate conditions durian trees require.

"We are restricted by the land available," he said, as quoted by The Straits Times.

Hence, Feng believes the home-grown durian industry should focus on producing high-end, high-quality products instead.

Du shares the same view, adding that Hainan could take a cue from Japan.

"Japan has a relatively small land area, so they prioritise quality above all else in agricultural development," he noted.

Even so, efforts are being made to breed durian varieties that can better withstand colder climates, though breakthroughs in this area could take years, if not longer.

In the meantime, some of the more ambitious investors are venturing beyond Hainan, eyeing inland regions with relatively favorable conditions such as Xishuangbanna in Yunnan province, near the borders with Myanmar and Laos.

While the area shows promise, it remains to be seen whether it can match Hainan’s pace of development.

For now, though, China’s seemingly insatiable demand for the fruit is still mostly sustained by Southeast Asia.

The country imported a record US$6.99 billion worth of durians last year, with Thailand and Vietnam supplying 57% and 41.5% of the market, respectively, while the Philippines and Malaysia, which only recently gained access, accounted for the remainder.