From January 3 to January 5, 2023, His Excellency President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., paid a state visit to China, which was Marcos's first state visit to non-ASEAN countries since he took office in June2022. It was also the first time since 2019 that the Philippine President visited China. Dole, a leading brand in the Philippine fruit industry, was invited to hold a roundtable with the President of the Philippines to discuss the details and promotion of Philippine durian exports to China.
On the morning of the 5th January, President Marcos cordially received representatives of outstanding Philippine agricultural enterprises at St. Regis Hotel in Beijing. The meeting included Mr. Runner Yang, Vice President and General Manager of Dole China (Fresh Group), among other representatives from the agriculture industry.
At the event, the Philippine Minister of Trade and Industry delivered a welcome speech to the delegates, the Senior Undersecretary of Agriculture of the Philippines gave a brief briefing on the Philippine agricultural industry, and President Marcos also delivered a relevant speech.
Mr. Runner Yang briefed President Marcos on Dole's operations in the Philippines. He said that in addition to the Philippine fruits currently on sale, Dole has been exploring other and more various imported fruits. Durian has surpassed cherries and bananas to become the most popular fruit, and China's durian market has great potential. Philippine durian is about to enter China and Dole is full of confidence and has great expectations for Philippine durian. They have sent a special team to the Philippines, hoping to be the first, after the granting of access, to bring Philippine durians to Chinese consumers. In the next three years, Dole will have a complete plan for the Philippine durian and hopes to have a good performance.
Philippine durians coming to China soon
The Philippines is one of China's important suppliers of tropical fruits, and Philippine bananas, pineapples and other fruits are loved by consumers. However, it is little known that durian is also one of the most important export fruits of the Philippines. According to statistics from the Philippine Department of Agriculture, from 2014 to 2021, the Philippines' fresh durian exports have been among the top ten in the world. Major export countries and regions include China, Hongkong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Qatar and the United States.
China is the third largest consumption country of durian, importing 822,000 tons of durian worth US$4.21 billion in 2021. Moreover, Chinese consumers' love for durian has not decreased, and market demand is still increasing.
The Philippines has a large durian cultivation area and a large production and is an extremely strong competitor for Thailand and Vietnam. Statistics show that in 2020, the total area of durian planting in the Philippines was about 16,000 hectares and the output reached 100,000 tons, of which the durian production in the Davao area accounts for about 78% of the total, so Davao has the reputation as the "durian capital" of the Philippines, and the durian varieties produced include Chanee, Monthong and Puyat.
Dole increases durian category planning in the Philippines
It is reported that Dole is currently mainly deployed in frozen durian, including a variety of specifications of Monthong durian pulp and Malaysian frozen whole fruit Musang King, black thorn and other varieties. The access of fresh durian for the Philippines may become a new opportunity point.
Dole has abundant supply chain resources in the Philippines and has visited many durian producing areas in Davao. The production season of Philippine durian is from February to April and from August to October, which can be used as a supplement to the window period of Thai Monthong durian. After access, the Philippines will become one of the three major suppliers of fresh durian to the Chinese market, together with Thailand and Vietnam.
Dole
The Dole brand originated in 1851, when founder James Dole grew delicious pineapples in Hawaii under the DOLE trademark. In the past few decades Dole solidified its position as a Filipino banana and pineapple exporter. In addition to bananas and pineapples, Dole grows non-GMO papaya and Haas avocados in the Philippines, with a total planting area of more than 600,000 hectares, which it sells to China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Middle East, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Dole’s star products such as the Sweetio Banana and Pineapple have won the love and approval of Asian consumers.
In addition to generating significant revenues for the Philippines, Dole also invests in local community development and philanthropy. Since 2008, Dole has organized or participated in various charitable activities and corporate social responsibility projects, including community development in Mindanao, increased access to education, providing convenient community services to remote areas, developing the local environment in a protective and sustainable manner, and supporting humanitarian relief and disaster relief. With Dole in the Philippines, it has created jobs directly and indirectly for more than 20,000 people so far, benefiting the people of Mindanao.
Source: Dole China