Chinese consumers love durians. The annual consumption in China has reached 350 thousand tons, which actually exceeds the annual production volume of durians in Malaysia, even though only 1% of China's 1.4 billion people have tried the fruit. The Malaysian ambassador to China recently stated that he expects "Musang King" Malaysian durians to obtain permission within the year to enter the Chinese market with durian in shell [not to be confused with "Musang King" refrigerated durian pieces, which are already on the Chinese market].
Malaysia and Thailand are both major countries in durian production, and they are both limited by Chinese import policy. The imported whole durians currently available on the market are predominantly "Golden Pillow" durians from Thailand. There is currently no fresh durian product from Malaysia officially on the Chinese market. The best people can do is buy refrigerated durian pieces!
Durian map of Malaysia
The differences between Malaysian and Thai durian:
A. fruit varieties are different
There are four main durian varieties in Thailand but Mon Thong (Golden Pillow) occupies half the market. There are more than 200 registered durian varieties in Malaysia. The main varieties are D197 Musang King and D24 Sultan.
Soon ripe Musang King durian
B. Harvesting methods are different.
Thai durians are harvested before they ripen. When they are 70% ripe, the durians are plucked and exported to various countries. Malaysian durians are "picked up completely ripe". Fruit farmers must wait for the durian to ripen completely and fall off the tree naturally before they can bring them to the market.
Source: iFreshFair