Southeast Asian fruits ride RCEP wave to Chinese market

• May 12, 2022

Xinhua – Durians have entered their best season, and orders for the “stinky” fruit in China began to soar in late April, driving its imports from Southeast Asia, its main producing area.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the world’s largest free trade deal to date that took effect on Jan. 1, 2022, has further boosted its sales this year.

The RCEP countries account for roughly 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product and population. Over 90 percent of trade in goods among approved member states will gradually be tariff-free.

“We received 100 boxes of durians, which were distributed soon after arrival. Besides community convenience stores, there are also many individual customers,” said Huang Meixia with a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Group in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Charoen Pokphand Group is a leading agribusiness conglomerate in Thailand.

Huang noted that compared with the same period of last year, the durians are selling well despite a price increase this year.

Durians have conquered the taste of an increasing number of foodies across China. In 2021, the import volume of fresh durians was four times that of 2017.

Nisachol Thaithong, a Thai national in Nanning, Guangxi’s capital city, runs a business importing durians from her family’s orchard in Thailand to China and has accumulated a stable customer source over the past years. “When it came to durians in the past, many consumers only knew Golden Pillow. Now they can recognise many more durian varieties,” said Nisachol Thaithong.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501073857/southeast-asian-fruits-ride-rcep-wave-to-chinese-market/