Jakarta. Indonesian durian is gaining popularity overseas as its largest trading partner, China, intends to buy the “king of fruits” from the Southeast Asian country, according to a senior diplomat.

Foreign Affairs Minister Sugiono recently headed to Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The chief diplomats also held a so-called “2+2 dialogue” with their respective defense ministers. Sugiono’s spokesman Rolliansyah “Roy” Soemirat revealed Thursday that China planned to import Indonesian-grown durians, thus possibly paving the way for Jakarta to narrow its trade imbalance with Beijing. 

“Yes, there were indeed talks of having stronger trade cooperation [during the visit]. China expressed a huge interest in granting a larger market access to Indonesian products, namely fishery and durians,” Roy told reporters in Jakarta.

“I believe this shows [China’s] intention to open up to new things. I believe they have been exploring this [durian trade] cooperation for a long time, but they haven’t been able to implement it comprehensively,” Roy said.

Customs data showed that China had imported 15.6 billion kilograms of durian in 2024, with the import value reaching an all-time high of nearly $7 billion. Thailand was China’s biggest supplier of the beloved tropical fruit, boasting a market share of 57 percent in 2024. State-owned news agency Antara reported that China Customs had visited Indonesia last month to check on the local durian plantation, its harvest process, and the packing house -- all to make sure that they are up to standards. The audit results would be a make-or-break in Indonesia’s plans of penetrating China’s durian market.

Indonesia exported 600 tons of durians throughout 2024 -- worth a total of approximately $1.8 million. A large part of those fruits got shipped to Thailand and Hong Kong, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). However, Indonesia also bought 459.3 tons of foreign-grown durians worth $3.6 million that year. They mainly came from close neighbors Malaysia and Thailand.

BPS also reported that around  23.8 percent of Indonesia’s non-oil and gas exports went to China last month. This made China Indonesia’s largest export market, seconded by the US (nearly 12.1 percent) and India (almost 6.5 percent). China-bound exports had jumped from about $4.3 billion in February to $5.2 billion the following month. China also made up the lion’s share of Indonesia's non-oil and gas trade deficit in March, adding $1.1 billion to the trade imbalance. A trade deficit occurs when Indonesia’s imports exceed what it exports.