Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has promised durian growers in Johor that he will raise their falling prices with his “good friend” Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a visit to Beijing next month, as a nationwide glut leaves farmers struggling to sell the famously pungent fruit at sustainable prices.
Speaking during a political campaign stop in Johor, where a state election will be held on Saturday, Anwar said growers had complained to him during his two-day swing through the southern state that they were being forced to sell durians too cheaply after a bumper harvest across Peninsular Malaysia flooded the market.
“I promise one thing. Li Qiang, the Chinese prime minister, is a good friend,” Anwar told the crowd on Sunday. “I will be going to China next month and I want to bring up durian because I see prices are falling. China’s standards are very high, but I will try to negotiate.”
The prime minister said he had asked Johor farmers to pack their durians properly so he could present them to Li and tell him they came from the state.
“I will ask him to buy a bit more, then the price will go up,” Anwar said. He challenged his political rivals to show whether they had the same access to Beijing. “Can they negotiate with China and ask the country to import a bit more durian?”
I will ask him to buy a bit more, then the price will go up
Malaysia’s trade office, Matrade, in Beijing said on Saturday that fresh durian exports to China grew more than fivefold from about US$5 million to US$37 million in 2025, while frozen durian exports reached nearly US$202 million.
Exports of the fruit to China reached US$77 million in the first quarter of this year, with Malaysia targeting US$229 million by 2030, state news agency Bernama reported, quoting Matrade’s trade commissioner Niqman Rafaee M Sahar.