2. Durian has become a popular fruit in China market. Even under the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic, the import volume still maintained a high growth. From July 6th to 9th, the Durian Festival of the 2022 China-ASEAN Expo was held in China-ASEAN Expo. As one of the series of economic and trade activities in China-ASEAN Expo, this Durian Festival provides a platform for exhibitors and buyers to produce and sell durian fresh fruit and deep-processed products.
The reporter learned from the secretariat of China-ASEAN Expo that this year's Durian Festival was held in the form of "online exhibition+promotion matchmaking meeting", and four exhibition areas were set up, namely, durian fresh fruit exhibition area, durian deep processing and by-products exhibition area, durian catering and food exhibition area and related supporting service exhibition area, focusing on displaying high-quality durian products and supply chains in China and ASEAN countries.
The reporter learned that the online exhibition of this Durian Festival not only includes durian varieties such as Maoshanwang, Jinzhen, Ganyao, Jialun and Tomani, but also non-staple products such as dried durian, durian candy, durian cake and durian ice cream, as well as processed products such as coffee and pizza made from durian.
Large orchards and brand enterprises in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam promote online and share the new trends of durian industry, so that professional merchants can know the latest trends of durian industry without leaving home. At the same time, hundreds of large-scale first-line e-commerce platforms and large-scale supermarkets purchase and dock on the spot.
The reporter learned in the interview that after the COVID-19 epidemic, China's interest in ASEAN fruits has not been greatly affected, and durian is still one of the main growth sources of ASEAN countries' exports to China. Thailand's Ministry of Commerce said that Thailand's Ministry of International Trade Promotion actively promoted durian in China this year and cooperated with China's e-commerce platform.
Malaysian is also concerned about the demand for durian in China. On June 20 19, Malaysia was granted access to China for frozen whole durian. According to the relevant data of Malaysian Ministry of Commerce, durian exported from Malaysia to China has increased to 50% of the total farm exports since 20 19.
The reporter learned that China has signed more than 30 bilateral agricultural cooperation agreements with ASEAN countries, and established the working mechanism of the Joint Committee on Agriculture with eight of them. Under the platform of multilateral mechanisms such as Lancang-Mekong cooperation and Greater Mekong Subregion, China will continue to work with ASEAN countries to deepen pragmatic cooperation in agriculture and promote the sustainable development of regional agriculture.
Xu Ningning, executive director of China-ASEAN Business Council, said that since the formal establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in 20 10, China-ASEAN agricultural trade has grown rapidly, and ASEAN has become China's largest agricultural trading partner. In 2020, the total bilateral trade in agricultural products reached US$ 43 billion, up 8% year-on-year, higher than the overall trade growth level. China and ASEAN countries have carried out in-depth cooperation in agricultural fields such as mutual recognition of standards, climate change and cross-border animal and plant diseases through experiments and demonstrations, academic exchanges and personnel training. Strengthening agricultural cooperation between China and ASEAN to stabilize regional food security is not only the internal demand of China-ASEAN economic and social development, but also the concrete action to deal with epidemic situation and stabilize agricultural production.
The relevant person in charge of the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat said that this year's Durian Festival takes durian, a fruit with characteristics of ASEAN countries, as an entry point, integrates upstream and downstream resources of durian industry chain, and promotes the development of agricultural products processing trade.