Marcos: PH durian market in China ‘now open’

MANILA, Philippines – Fresh durian from the Philippines can now be exported to China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday.

Marcos, in a roundtable discussion with several chief executive officers from the agricultural sector in China, said the agreement on a protocol of phytosanitary requirements for the export of the pungent fruit from the Philippines to China has been signed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and China’s General Administration of Customs.

“As the protocol for the export of fresh Philippine durian was signed yesterday, the market for this fruit is now open to Philippine exporters and Chinese importers,” he said, as quoted in a statement shared by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

Marcos noted that at least four companies had expressed intention to purchase some $2.09 billion worth of Philippine fruits, that also include coconut and bananas.

He also said the country’s durian growers, represented in the meeting by the Davao Durian Industry Association, have “long waited” for the export window to the Chinese market to be opened.

Durian is grown in several provinces across the country, but Davao Region accounted for 78 percent of the total harvest in 2020.

China is among the biggest markets for durian. Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian earlier said his country imported 822,000 tons of durian worth $4.21 billion in 2021.

Marcos also noted the intention of several Chinese companies to also invest in coconut and the livestock sector, and develop durian as a plantation crop. This, he said, “will generate much-needed employment, enrich the sector’s research and development activities and capabilities, enhance domestic and international trade, and ensure food security at affordable prices.”

He underscored the “great potentials” of the country’s coconut industry, which is expected to soon be rehabilitated and modernized, once its products are exported to the Chinese market.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, in the same meeting, noted that the Philippines is a “highly promising production base for agribusiness, a source also of products for export to China.”

“We invite you to firm up your interest to make [the Philippines an] investment destination for plantation development and building of processing facilities,” he added.

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