China institute launches certification for Malaysian durian

The Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine (CAIQ) has launched the Malaysian durian standard and certification “Malaysian Durian Certification Implementation Rules” which aims to protect the interests of durian farmers, operators, and consumers while creating a fair and trustworthy consumption environment.

CAIQ is a Chinese national public institution established to research and develop science and technology applicable in inspection and quarantine.

In a statement, it said the standard is in compliance with the “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation”, according to the “World Traceable High-quality Agricultural Product: Malaysia Durian” (T/CASME 13 – 2021) group standard.

CAIQTEST Malaysia CEO Dr Ch’ng Soo Ee said the quality of Malaysian durians has been recognised by the public due to the growth of domestic durian demand and the improvement of living standards.

“Malaysian durian has great advantages in comparison to other variants in terms of colour, meat quality and taste. However, the price of Malaysian durian is also significantly higher than other durian varieties due to the higher transportation costs. Given the strong demand for Malaysian durian and its higher pricing, this has led some unscrupulous importers to confuse the durian origin and variety in order to obtain high profits,” she said.

According to Ch’ng, the standard implemented will help to fight against these unscrupulous importers’ practices of confusing durian origin as they would require to obtain the Malaysian Durian Certification to authenticate its origin.

The “Malaysian Durian Certification Implementation Rules” formulated by CAIQ have completed the filing with the National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) and will accept applications for certification from Chinese importers of Malaysian durians and Malaysian exporters from now on.

The demand for durian, which is known as the “King of Fruits” has been gaining traction in China over the last few years, mainly for its authentic, strong smell, delicious pulp and rich nutrition. This has made an effective implementation of the certification even more important.

The review is conducted by experts from different institutes, including the China Academy Of Science (Institute of Agricultural Quality Standards and Testing Technology), the Development Research Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation, China Customs Science and Technology Research Center together with other institutions. These reviews provide the technical support and guarantee for the effective implementation of the Malaysian durian certification.

The standard will help to encourage the Malaysian fruit farmers to increase their investment, improve and develop new durian varieties and improve the quality of durians targeted for export to China.

“This is a game changer as this is among the first standard implemented in line with the ‘National Standardization Development Outline’ to actively promote the docking and cooperation in the field of standards with countries jointly building the ‘Belt and Road,’” Ch’ng said.