Vendors transport packaged durians at Haijixing Market, a large wholesale fruit market, in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhao Huan)

From durian to cherry, kiwi to avocado, China, one of the world's largest fruit markets, has been importing more fresh and high-quality fruits to meet growing domestic demand, bringing sweet opportunities to fruit farmers and traders around the world.

In 2023, China's fruit imports amounted to 16.85 billion U.S. dollars, up 15 percent year-on-year, with a total import volume of 7.524 million tons, up 3 percent. Among them, fresh durian imports reached 6.72 billion dollars, a substantial increase of 66 percent, making durian the country's leading imported fruit item.

Thanks to the relaxation of market entry conditions, enhanced efficiency in customs clearance and the development of cross-border cold chain logistics systems, an increasing number of Chinese consumers are now able to enjoy the creamy taste and high nutritional value of the "king of fruits" at more affordable prices.

For years, Thailand dominated durian exports to China until Vietnam entered the market in 2022. Official data showed that in 2023, China imported 1.426 million tons of fresh durians, with 929,000 tons from Thailand and 493,000 tons from Vietnam. In the face of growing pressure, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin vowed to foster competition by developing varieties, maintaining durian conditions and quality, and ensuring efficient transportation for quick delivery.

Healthy competition has resulted in a win-win situation for all parties involved. Chinese consumers have enjoyed more affordable durians, Vietnamese durians have gained access to the Chinese market, and Thailand has achieved record-high durian exports to China thanks to the growing market.

Statistics show that in the first four months of 2024, Thailand exported over 225,000 tons of fresh durian to China, and the momentum remained strong in May.

China has granted market access to and reduced tariffs on an increasing number of imported fruits. Meanwhile, major projects such as the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the China-Laos Railway have greatly facilitated fruit imports.

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, jointly built by provincial-level regions in western China and ASEAN members, expanded its reach to 490 ports across 120 countries and regions, according to data released in January by southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the corridor's operational hub.

The China-Laos Railway, connecting Kunming, the capital of southwestern China's Yunnan Province, with the Laotian capital of Vientiane, had handled over 8 million tons of import and export goods as of mid-April, with durian imports via the railway surged by more than seven times, said Kunming Customs in April.

In January, a container vessel loaded with over 2,000 tons of Chilean cherries arrived at Tianjin, marking the first direct shipping service for Latin American cherries, from nearly 20,000 kms away, to reach the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in northern China.

Officers of Qinzhou Port Customs check imported mangosteens at the Qinzhou Port in Qinzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 25, 2024. (Photo by Li Fuyang/Xinhua)

Over the past seven years, Chilean cherry exports to China have grown at an estimated annual average growth rate of around 29 percent. The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association estimated earlier that more than 85 percent of Chilean cherries would be exported to China in the first season of 2024.

The growing demand of the Chinese market has spurred the expansion of Chile's cherry planting area and benefited local farmers. From 2000 to 2022, the total cherry planting area in Chile grew from 3,241 hectares to 61,559 hectares, according to data from Chile's Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies.

Apart from ASEAN and Latin America, Africa has also benefited from Chinese customers' growing appetite for fruits. So far, China has approved "green channel" access for an increasing variety of African fruits such as oranges, avocados, and horned melons.

In August 2022, the first batch of fresh avocados grown in Kenya arrived in China, making Kenya the first African country to export fresh avocados to China.

"The export of fresh avocados to China is a monumental feat that will boost our economy and benefit key players across the avocado value chain including farmers," said David Osiany, then chief administrative secretary for Kenya's Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development.

"The entry of fruit into China is another signal of China's determination to ... diversify its sources of agricultural goods," Lauren Johnston, a China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg, told South China Morning Post.

It also signals that China is determined to cultivate new export markets linking China and Africa, especially in agriculture, because "this may not only enhance agricultural productivity to meet the demands of a growing population in Africa but also boost rural incomes and promote the alleviation of poverty," said Johnston.