IN the five years since 2016, the value of durian exports has grown by RM74.8 million or 107%, Deputy Agriculture and Food Industries Minister I Ahmad Hamzah said.

He said the good response to Malaysian durians has caused the value of durian exports to increase every year.

“The value of durian exports in 2016 was RM69.9 million; in 2017, RM59 million; in 2018, RM124.9 million; in 2019, RM127 million; and in 2020, RM144.7 million,” he said in a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara today.

He said until last month, Malaysian durians have been successfully exported to 22 countries with five of them recording the highest exports, namely Hong Kong, China, Singapore, the United States and Australia, based on the 2020 records.

“As the country importing the highest value of durians from Malaysia, Hong Kong contributed to the increase in export value of RM57.52 million,” he said.

Ahmad said the government did not impose any export tax on the durians because it wanted to help the durian export market to stay competitive, grow rapidly and compete with other durian-producing countries, especially Thailand.

“Malaysia’s durian export market is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the future,” he said. – Bernama, October 12, 2021.