The market is indeed juicy in perspective since the fruit has not only become a fashion phenomenon but also an external sign of wealth. Over the last two years, the country has imported six billion dollars worth of it.
Imagine a large ovoid that can exceed 40 centimeters in length and weigh up to eight kilos, yellow flesh, a shell bristling with prickles giving off the smell of socks or even sewage or skunk… Durian is a fruit which, despite its difficult to bear smell is a hit in China. Demand for Durian there has increased by 400%.
So how can we explain such enthusiasm for a fruit which, on paper, does not really appeal. Quite simply because he is nicknamed the “king of fruits” by the Thais. Durian has become an outward sign of wealth among the Chinese middle classes. On social networks, influencers post photos of themselves with their durian.
Sold between 4 and 10 euros per kilo, Durian is a gift given for an engagement or a wedding. A real fashion phenomenon has been born around this stinking fruit which has enormous financial repercussions since in two years, China imported six billion dollars worth of Durian, mainly from Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. To the point that many Chinese are now starting to grow Durian.
A difficult culture
Except that Durian is quite finicky. It never grew in China. So the country is trying to unravel its secrets to no longer depend on foreigners. But the quest promises to be difficult because, if the Durian is hard and robust, the tree on which it grows with its dense and shiny foliage is very sensitive to cold and drought and has never been rainy in China.
Nothing to discourage apprentice sorcerers like this fertilizer specialist, cited by the Wall Street Journal who, through laborious trials, will have ended up finding the most appropriate chemical mixtures to fight against worms, ants, bitter tastes and flowers that do not want to bloom. The business manager is invited to provide his advice everywhere, even though it is contrary to the recommendations of researchers specializing in tropical fruits.
Because everything is good for “liberate the durian”, as the Chinese media write, and to develop the very profitable cultivation of a fruit whose success perhaps also lies unacknowledged in its supposed aphrodisiac virtues. Because it is well known, love has no smell.