The Thailand World News reported that export of Thai durian to China has encountered an obstacle. Traders loudly complain about the situation. There are 3,000 containers full of durian detained by the General Administration of Customs China. The containers arrived at the border overland and by air freight. The total worth of the durian held at the border is around 1.3 billion yuan [188 million USD].
The reason for this situation is a change in the inspection protocol. The customs employees maintain strict standards for the inspection of pesticide residue or harmful pests. The large number of containers await inspection and are stuck at the border until then. The durian will naturally ripen while detained at the border, which means that traders are unable to control the ripening process. This puts pressure on the price of ripe durian, which is expected to drop by 50%. Traders can not help but ask the Thai government to intervene on their behalf.
The vice-chair of the Thailand Durian and Mangosteen Export Association stated that he has not encountered such a problem with inspection of containers during his 10 years in the durian export industry. The vice-chair hopes the government will intervene and solve the crisis. The solution should address future durian export, the strict inspection at Chinese customs, and competition with neighboring countries.
Source: Dong Bo She