The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the free trade deal to date that took effect on Jan. 1, 2022, has further boosted its sales this year.
The RCEP countries account for roughly 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product and population. Over 90 percent of trade in goods among approved member states will gradually be tariff-free.
"We received 100 boxes of durians, which were distributed soon after arrival. Besides community convenience stores, there are also many individual customers," said Huang Meixia with a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Group in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region reports www.china.org.cn
Huang noted that compared with the same period of last year, the durians are selling well despite a price increase this year.
In 2021, the import volume of fresh durians was four times that of 2017.
Guangxi's Qinzhou Port has opened several direct container routes to Thailand. The fruit express line from Laem Chabang to Qinzhou runs four times a week, and the fruits can reach China in about three to four days.
Apart from Thai durians, durians from Malaysia are also gaining in popularity in China.
Chinese and Malaysian enterprises have recently signed 11 agreements to promote investment and strategic cooperation in cross-border trade, among which the trade of durians has become the focus of attention.