Cross-border e-commerce has gotten the attention of millions of Chinese consumers, who are now indeed very interested in Thailand's fresh durians.
The "Monthong" (literally "golden pillow") is the most popular durian variety, characterized by triangular spikes and pale yellow, creamy flesh. This particular durian variety is not easy to find in the Chinese market when cross-border e-commerce didn't rise between China and Thailand.
Things changed in April 2018 when Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba signed a 428 million U.S. dollar deal on durian fruit sales with the Thai government. Under the deal, the China-based e-commerce operator agreed with Thailand to work together in a number of areas, including e-commerce, digital logistics and training. The agreement paved the way for the speedy delivery of Thai productions like durian to China.
Within 60 seconds on T-mall, a Chinese online shopping website operated by Alibaba, in April 2018, Chinese consumers ordered 80,000 "golden pillow" durians.
Speedy delivery is essential
Speedy delivery of durian is important to maintain the freshness of the special-odored fruit, according to Gao Mengdi, a durian producer in Thailand. Gao stressed the need to pick the fruit at the right temperature and said it can last only 10 days at 13 degrees Celsius.
Because of the 2018 deal, Alibaba invested to build a logistics and storage hub in Thailand. Cainiao, the logistics arm under Alibaba, can now deliver fresh "golden pillow" durian to China within five days. Durian lovers in major cities across China can now taste fresh durian without leaving their homes.
