Malaysia’s ambassador to China, Norman Muhamad, said the Chinese people were pleased with the freshness and high quality of Malaysia’s fresh durians at every outlet where it was sold.

“Indeed, all the durians were sold out on the very first day of the launch ceremony on Aug 26. Even before I left the ceremony, the durians that were brought in there were all sold out,” he told Bernama in Beijing.

The 40 tonnes of premium-quality fresh durians were put on sale on Aug 26 at selected retail outlets in Beijing, Zhengzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Nanning. The varieties included Musang King, Black Thorn, and D24.

Norman said the government will soon work towards establishing more cargo flights between Malaysia and China to bring fresh durians into the country.

“Our traders will indeed take the opportunity to market fresh durians but it is a bit complicated because fresh durians must be sold in less than 36 hours otherwise they will spoil,” he said.

One of the buyers, Chen Jingyi, 26, said fresh durians were a bit expensive, but worth it because the taste and quality are very different “perhaps because most of the durians that come here have been frozen or something like that”.

Private worker Wang Yiming compared the taste of fresh Malaysian durians to that of an ice cream.

“Durian is very popular in Beijing and is easy to find in supermarkets or fruit shops here, but the fruit is not fresh. Malaysia’s initiative to export fresh durians here is the right step and as a result, the fruit is selling very well,” she said.

Student Almasbiek Mamut, 21, who was tasting fresh durians for the first time, said: “I think I have to go to Malaysia to taste the real fresh durian. I was lucky to be able to buy it,” he said.