Homegrown durians soon to hit market

Hailed as "the king of fruits," durian is popular in China. However, few Chinese provinces are suitable for planting the fruit. For a long time, China's durian consumption depends on imports from other countries.

Durians planted on 1,400 mu (93.33 hectares) of land at a durian plantation in Sanya city, south China's Hainan Province, are about to enter the market in June.

Different from imported ones which are harvested when they are about 70 to 80 percent mature, homegrown durians will be collected when they are fully mature.

Feng Xuejie, head of the Institute of Tropical Fruit Trees under the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said durians planted in Hainan will have more advantages over imported ones in the level of maturity and freshness.

Compared to imported ones, Hainan durians can be transported to the inland market faster. Feng suggested growing dwarf durian trees to avoid losses caused by typhoons, increase production and reduce labor costs.

Photo shows durians in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. (Hainan Daily/Li Yanmei)

Chen Bing, chief agronomist of a tropical fruit planting base in Qionghai city of Hainan, said planting durians is a good choice for farmers in the eastern, central and northern regions of Hainan Island, as it is able to build a new industry for local farmers to increase their income.

Experts said it takes five to eight years before the output of durians yielded by newly planted trees are boosted, and during this period, growers can interplant fruits such as bananas and pineapples, among durian trees, to increase their income.

There is still a long way to go before there are enough homegrown durians sold at a lower price on the domestic market, according to experts.

Feng estimated that the planting area of durian trees in Hainan will reach 100,000 mu in three to five years, and when that hits between 300,000 and 500,000 mu, the price of Hainan durians will drop.

Feng said Hainan durians will be available in the market between the end of June and August, and their output is estimated at around 50 tonnes.