THE king of Malaysian fruits, the durian, has acquired a legion of loyal fans in China.
The spiky fruit was once considered a novelty by the Chinese but it can now be found at many supermarkets. For a long time, Thailand has dominated the Chinese durian market, but the Malaysian durian is gaining in popularity.
The Associated Press reported that as of August last year, the export value of Malaysian frozen durians to China had reached RM1.2 million, adding that the export value of the whole of last year was expected to surpass the RM1.6 million figure achieved in 2013.
Businessman Paul Mak, whose company, Citra Evolusi, has been exporting durians to China since 2010, said Musang King, known for its pungent aroma and soft silky pulp, was the most celebrated variety.
Top quality Musang King durians have brownish-grey skins with broad and blunt spikes, fruits with small seeds and a five-pointed star on the bottom.
“The market for the Malaysian durian started opening up in 2008. Before that the Chinese had been getting their durians from Thailand,” said Mak.
“At first, we exported durians in whole fruit form to Hong Kong. In 2011, Malaysia was given the opportunity to export durians to China, when former Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited Kuala Lumpur and was served the fruit.”
He said friends from China told him that they preferred the taste of the Malaysian durian as it was more fragrant, delicious and creamy than the Thai varieties.
“The durian is very popular in China. We mostly export to Guangdong province which has a population of more than 100 million. It is a huge market.
“A 400g packet of frozen Musang King durian can fetch between RM55 and RM65.”
Mak said Thai durians were less fragrant and flavourful because they were harvested shortly before they ripened, while Malaysian durians were harvested after ripening.
“That is why we send only frozen Malaysian durians. People have a misconception that if it is frozen, the quality of the pulp will not be the same as fresh durians.
“This is not true as we use liquid nitrogen to freeze the durian pulp in the shortest time to maintain freshness and flavour.”
Mak’s durians are sourced from Raub, Pahang. His company, also produces durian puree made of D24 durian pulp. It can be used to make durian ice cream, durian cheese cakes and durian flavoured filling for mochi balls (a Japanese dessert).