Did domestic durian fail?, Not enough for Chinese people to fill their teeth! Annual production less than one thousandth of imported volume Hainan | durian | domestically produced

The most talked about fruit this year

It's none other than domestic durian

A surprising news came in March this year

The first batch of domestically produced durians in Hainan is about to mature

This means that Chinese consumers

About to taste Chinese durian for the first time

Netizens shout "Durian Freedom" is coming

It is reported that the first batch of domestically produced durians are planned to be launched in June

However, recent media reports have stated that

This year, the production of durian in Hainan is only about 50 tons

data display

China is the world's largest durian consumer market

Since 2021

China imports over 800000 tons of durian annually

The annual production of Hainan durian this year

Less than one thousandth of the import volume

Netizens are a bit "disappointed" about this

Du Baizhong, President of Hainan Durian Association, also sighed with emotion

The little durian currently produced in Hainan,

It's not enough for Chinese people to fill their teeth

Could it be that domestically produced durian has "capsized"?

How difficult is it to localize durian?

Recently, the reporter came to Hainan to explore the truth

How difficult is it to localize durian?

At the durian planting base in the Yucai Ecological Zone of Sanya City, lush durian trees are neatly arranged on the slope, with volleyball sized fruits hanging between the branches of many durian trees in clusters of three to five, growing happily.

Some larger durian fruits are also tied with hanging ropes to prevent them from falling naturally after ripening and causing damage. Watching the first batch of large-scale cultivation of durian fruits in his family, Du Baizhong, President of Hainan Durian Association and General Manager of Hainan Youqi Agriculture Co., Ltd., exclaimed, "It's really not easy to grow durians in Hainan."

"Durian is a purely tropical fruit tree that grows in areas with a daily average temperature of over 22 ℃, and is best planted in areas south of 18.4 ° N latitude." Du Baizhong told reporters that although Hainan has the ecological conditions to meet the growth of durian, planting durian has not been as smooth as expected.

Since the 1950s, Hainan has introduced durian from abroad. Due to the lack of scientific management and other reasons, durian trees do not bloom or bear fruit for a long time, which seems to confirm the rumor that "Hainan is not suitable for planting durians".

In 2015, 44 durian trees were introduced to the Hainan Huasheng Ecological Agriculture Base in Sandao Town, Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, and by 2019, they had bloomed and borne fruit. The news has attracted widespread attention and has also led to large-scale cultivation of durian in various parts of Hainan.

Du Baizhong has established a base in Sanya and has been leading his team to focus on growing durians since 2020.

Soon, the problem arose. Due to the lack of a precedent for the industrialization of durian cultivation in China, exploration is needed in terms of variety cultivation and technical support. Du Baizhong's durian tree mortality rate reached 40%.

The reason behind this is that durian is too refined and expensive.

Feng Xuejie, Director of the Tropical Fruit Research Institute of Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told reporters that durian is a very "picky" and "enjoyable" fruit. "Durian must 'live' in the mountains, enjoy a warm winter and cool summer climate, grow with a leeward wind, and the humidity should be controlled between 75% and 85%."

"To 'move' durian from Southeast Asian countries to Hainan, we need to simulate and mimic an ecological environment suitable for durian growth," said Feng Xuejie. He and his team identified and evaluated durian variety resources, conducted regional adaptability experiments, and developed corresponding fertilizer and water management technologies, cultivation models, and pest and disease control technologies. These technological supports have given durian the confidence to grow in Hainan, and have also reduced the mortality rate of durian trees in the base to 5%.

Merely simulating the environment is not enough, and targeted optimization needs to be carried out based on the natural environment of Hainan.

For example, precipitation. Compared to Southeast Asia with lower latitudes, Hainan has a more distinct dry and rainy season. "The root system of durian is very shallow and requires a large amount of water at all stages of growth," Du Baizhong explained, which requires them to continuously improve their irrigation system.

Besides, what is more important is patience.

According to the durian planting manual of the Philippine Department of Agriculture, durians need to be thinned during the fruiting process, which means actively removing some flowers or young fruits to concentrate nutrients.

The result of doing so is that the amount of fruit each tree can bear is related to its age. In the first three years, durian trees can hardly leave any fruit, while in four years, only five fruits are recommended. Only after five years can the number of fruits reach double digits, and in ten years, mature fruit trees can reach 85.

This also means that from planting to harvesting, it is a long process of continuous investment without necessarily seeing returns. Du Baizhong told reporters that his company has invested 320 million yuan from planting in 2019 to harvesting this year.

It is precisely because the durian trees planted are still "young" that the number of durians that can truly mature this year is extremely limited. "This year, Hainan has produced about 1400 acres of durians, many of which are young trees. Therefore, it is necessary to keep a scientific amount of fruit. For better trees, only five or six fruits should be left, while for weaker ones, only two or three fruits should be left, resulting in a total yield of around 50 tons." Feng Xuejie introduced that by next year or the year after, when these young trees grow up, Hainan durians can enter the market in bulk, with an annual supply capacity of 20000 to 30000 tons.

Is it necessary to produce durian domestically?

Since planting durians is so difficult, why do we have to plant them in Hainan, which was once considered unsuitable?

The most important reason is naturally due to the vast domestic market.

China, which hardly produces durians, is the largest consumer of durians.

According to Chinese customs data, the annual import volume of durian in China was 224400 tons in 2017, and the import volume of durian in 2021 reached 821500 tons, almost four times that of that year.

Along with the rise of the durian market, there is also the price of durian.

In the market, the common Thai imported durian is sold for tens of yuan per kilogram, and with a starting weight of three to five kilograms, owning a whole durian costs two to three hundred yuan. Last year, reports showed that Malaysia's black prickly durian was sold for only 700-800 yuan per kilogram, with a unit price of 316 yuan, hence it is also known as the "durian assassin".

The attractiveness of such a hot market to investors is self-evident. Especially after learning that durians can also be grown in Hainan, the number of investors who want to join in is increasing day by day.

Mr. Zhao, a durian seedling dealer who has been in the industry for many years, introduced to reporters that since 2021, investors from all over the country have been coming to consult or purchase durian tree species. He himself has received merchants from Heilongjiang, Jilin, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Sichuan, Anhui and other places. Some merchants have purchased seedlings and directly rented land in Hainan to plant them.

As of now, about 30000 acres of durian have been planted in Sanya, Baoting, Ledong, Lingshui, Qiongzhong and other areas in Hainan.

Du Baizhong also calculated an account for the reporter - "We are currently planting about 15 durian trees per acre of land. The conservative estimate of the yield of mature durian trees per plant is 40-50 fruits, with each fruit weighing 2.5-3 kilograms. Based on the current lowest market price for the whole year, if a good harvest can be achieved, the annual income per acre can exceed 100000 yuan."

The considerable financial situation is a great benefit for local fruit farmers. The person in charge of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Sanya City stated in an interview with the media that a 50000 acre durian industrial park will be built in the coming years, with an expected increase of 50 billion yuan in output value, making durian a sweet industry on par with Sanya mangoes.

In addition to its economic appeal, Hainan durian is also the ultimate delicacy and a major driving force for the localization of durian.

Compared to imported durians, domestically produced durians have natural geographical advantages.

In order to facilitate the smooth long-distance transportation of durians into China, imported durians are mostly harvested at the 6th and 7th ripening stages, and then transported while waiting for the durians to mature. By the end retail point, durians have also matured.

However, durian ripened in this way has a significant difference in taste compared to tree ripe durian due to the lack of subsequent nutritional supplements.

"Hainan durian can achieve tree ripening, shorter transportation time, and higher maturity products, making its taste more advantageous than Southeast Asian durian. This is also the future development direction of Hainan durian," Feng Xuejie introduced.

Will durian prices be cheaper in the future?

According to the National Agricultural Products Wholesale Market Information System of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the average price of durian in the Zhejiang market has exceeded 53 yuan per kilogram since the beginning of this year.

Dubbed the "King of Fruits", durian's high value has also deterred many foodies.

However, based on past experience, once expensive fruits are localized, it means a significant decrease in price.

For example, the Sunshine Rose grape has been introduced to China for only over a decade, and its price has dropped from 600 yuan per kilogram to 20 yuan per kilogram, even resulting in a "cabbage price" of a few yuan per kilogram.

Will the domestically produced durian bring the desired "durian freedom" to foodies?

Experts believe that although this goal is not unattainable, there is still a long way to go.

Feng Xuejie told reporters that the price is determined by value. Due to the difficulty of planting and high nutritional value, durian is "destined not to be too cheap", and the previously rumored "ten yuan and 1.5 kilograms" online is "basically impossible".

Meanwhile, prices will be influenced by supply and demand. With the large-scale production of domestically produced durians, the price reduction is not an illusion. Feng Xuejie estimates that Hainan durian will grow from the current 30000 mu to 100000 mu within 3-5 years, and plant "three to five hundred thousand mu" in the visible future. "At that time, the price of domestic durian may reach between 20-40 yuan/kg."

"The amount of durian produced in Hainan is not enough for Chinese people to fill their teeth!" Du Baizhong told reporters that this year, due to the young age of the trees, the quantity of durians they have launched on the market is not large, mainly for customers to taste. We will gradually expand our market in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai after mass production in the coming years. "After the market supply exceeds demand, prices will naturally decrease." However, Du Baizhong predicts that this will be at least 5 years from now.

Despite strong market confidence, growers and merchants in Hainan still feel that the road ahead is long and arduous.

Faced with large-scale cultivation in our country, some countries are tightening the export of seedlings through legislation or other means, making it increasingly difficult to introduce high-quality fruit varieties from abroad.

To achieve large-scale industrial cultivation of durian from the source, it is necessary to cultivate new varieties suitable for local cultivation.

Du Baizhong's company has been exploring this track in recent years. "The company has established a gene bank for live seedling germplasm resources and has cultivated it in combination with local and foreign varieties. In recent years, it is expected that durian varieties with independent intellectual property rights will emerge." Du Baizhong said.

After obtaining higher quality durian varieties, Feng Xuejie believes that Chinese people will soon be able to achieve "durian freedom" in another sense - consumers who want to eat good durians do not need to go to Thailand or Malaysia, but can directly take high-speed trains to Hainan Island, which is also a form of "durian freedom".

Efforts should be made from the aspects of industrial scale, distribution channels, and consumer end to enhance industrial scale and increase the distribution chain. With a combination of punches, one day we will be able to enjoy affordable domestic durian.