A durian, which sells for between Rp19,500 (US$1.40) and Rp100,000 is pictured on Wednesday (July 10) at a stall in Medan, North Sumatra. - AFP
JAKARTA: Indonesia is seeking to capture a significant share of China’s exploding demand for durian which is worth billions of dollars, but experts say the country is not in good shape to compete with its more established neighbors.
Durian, hailed by enthusiasts as the “king of fruit”, has become a focal point in diplomatic engagements between China and South-East Asian countries as Beijing pledged to import more fruit from the region to cement its influence amid an intensifying rivalry with the United States in the bloc.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said Indonesia could potentially earn up to US$8 billion by exporting durians to China, banking on a demand surge in the country.
Beijing imported US$6.7 billion worth of durian last year, a jump of 318 per cent from 2019, United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade) data shows.
At the same time, Beijing has been crowned the largest importer of durian, contributing to 95 per cent of the world’s imports, equivalent to 740,000 tonnes between 2020 and 2022, according to a UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report in 2023.
After his visit to China at the end of June, Luhut mentioned plans to collaborate with China to boost Indonesia’s capacity to export the pungent fruit, targeting existing durian producing regions, from Central Sulawesi to food estates in Fakfak, West Papua, to make them large-scale durian plantations.
China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner with Beijing comprising the largest share of Jakarta’s export market, and shipments largely consisting of mineral resources and metal ore, among other major commodities.
Indonesia has hardly exported any durian to China for decades, according to UN Comtrade data.
Most of China’s durian instead came from Thailand, which contributed 94 per cent of shipments worldwide between 2020 and 2022.
Malaysia and Vietnam followed behind with some 3 per cent each, according to an FAO 2023 report.
Sigit Purwanto, a durian expert and head of the Durian Traveler Indonesia community told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday (July 9) he expects that Indonesia will face a challenge in producing high-quality durians that can compete with other exporting countries. Neighboring countries have succeeded in cultivating specific durian varieties, like Malaysia with the Musang King and Black Thorn varieties, Thailand with Monthong and Vietnam with the RI-6 variety.
While Indonesia boasts over 120 durian varieties, most are wild-grown and are not consistent in quality.
This inconsistency makes it harder for the export market, as similar qualities in large quantities are expected, Sigit explained.
Most Indonesian durians are better suited for the domestic market as there are not many farmers growing high quality fruit despite a surge in durian farming because of a growing demand for premium fruit.
Indonesia produced 1.83 million tonnes of durian just last year, making it one of the world’s key producers, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), but it consumes 90 per cent of its yield domestically and only exports the remainder.
Sigit also expressed concerns that the export hype did not include local farmers. He warned a mere production increase plan could result in a future supply glut, potentially collapsing durian prices and hurting smallholders.
“The issue is that the government is preparing land for collaboration with China, while thousands of hectares of existing local durian farms remain untouched,” Sigit said.
The government has allocated 10,000 hectares for durian plantations, including for collaboration with China. Farmers were less enthusiastic about the plan, he said, as there is no clear policy on how the government would incorporate them to boost exports.
“The government doesn’t need to find new land; just guide existing durian farmers. Managing 10,000 hectares is a small matter for Indonesian durian farmers,” Sigit said.
Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) researcher Eliza Mardian said that usually the export market demands premium quality and sweet-tasting fruit, but Indonesia has different types of durians in each region. “The oil content, taste, texture and aroma of durian from each region are different. It is necessary to have the right branding strategy with various regional advantages,” she said on Tuesday.
Moreover, Indonesia remained less competitive than its neighbors not just because of the taste but also the distance and lack of efficient distribution channels, Eliza pointed out.
Dwi Andreas Santosa, biotech professor at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) said on Tuesday that Indonesia has ironically faced a production shortfall to meet growing local demand in the past few years, which has led to high prices of durian in the country.
With limited production and a booming local market, Dwi argued that focusing on increasing domestic durian production might be a more realistic strategy than prioritising exports at this stage.
“It’s better to increase production for local consumption,” he opined. Domestic durian consumption in 2023 reached 1.031kg per capita per year, according to BPS, but the number is still low compared to other countries, Dwi said. – The Jakarta Post/ANN
