China's Durian Appetite Turns Malaysia's Former Gold Town Into a Musang King Capital

Raub's new wealth grows on trees

China imported a record $7 billion worth of durians in 2024, three times the value recorded in 2020. In Raub, a former gold mining town in Malaysia's Pahang state, that appetite has helped turn an estimated 150,000 durian trees across approximately 2,000 hectares into the foundation of a new economy.

Malaysia shipped 115,359 tonnes of durian products to China between 2018 and June 2025, worth RM6.37 billion ($1.51 billion). Those shipments included pulp, paste, frozen fruit and fresh whole durians. The trade has brought wealth to growers, work to processors and transport businesses, and visitors eager to taste Musang King where it grows.

Raub was a gold mining town in the 19th century and gained national attention in the early 1900s, when miners collected flecks of gold from trays of freshly dug sand. Today, its valuable yellow product is the buttery, bittersweet flesh of Musang King, a variety Chinese consumers have dubbed the "Hermès of durians."

Durian's strong smell divides consumers. Admirers call it the "king of fruits" for its sweet taste and creamy texture, while others avoid its pungent aroma. In China, it has acquired fresh prestige and appears in desserts, milk tea and even hot pot.

Raub's identity is visible in a giant sculpture of the spiky green fruit, murals on low walls and signs reading "Welcome to the home of Musang King durians." Trucks carrying the fruit travel its mountain roads, spreading the smell that now accompanies the town's business.

Chee Seng Wong, factory manager at Raub exporter Fresco Green, described the scale of the opportunity:

Even if only 2% of Chinese people want to buy durians, that is more than enough business.

Why Musang King commands a premium

Musang King is prized for its buttery texture, bittersweet taste and complex flavours. Its position among affluent Chinese consumers resembles that of a luxury product: authentic fruit commands premium prices and can serve as a status symbol, much like a Birkin bag from the French fashion house Hermès.

A Musang King durian can fetch $14 to $100 per fruit, depending on quality and season, compared with less than $2 for common varieties in Southeast Asia. The premium reflects the difficulty of cultivation and the taste characteristics buyers seek.

Lu Yuee Thing, owner of Uncle Thing Durian Leisure Farm in Raub, credits the town's growing conditions:

The soil in Raub is very suitable for cultivating durians. Also, the climate is very good.

The town's geographical location is also ideal for growing the luxe variety the town is known for.

Xu Xin, a 33-year-old durian seller from northeastern China, visited Raub with two durian exporters from southern China. She described how customers have moved beyond sweetness:

Maybe in the beginning we only liked durians that were sweet. But now we look for things like fragrance, richness and nuanced flavors.

Nowadays there are more customers who walk into the shop and ask, 'Are there any bitter ones in this batch?'

One of Xu's travelling companions saw room for many more buyers:

There are so many people who haven't eaten it yet. The market potential is huge.

Chinese tourists visiting rural Malaysia sample platters arranged from the mildest varieties to the richest. Local advice is to follow that order so each portion reveals new notes, moving through caramel and custard to the almost alcoholic bitterness associated with Musang King.

From oil palms to richer households

Raub's farmers have changed crops as their fortunes changed. Wong recalled that during an economic downturn in the 1990s, growers cut down durian trees to plant oil palms, Malaysia's main cash crop. He described the reversal:

Now it is the other way round. They are chopping oil palms to grow durians again.

The boom has created numerous millionaires. Farmers who once struggled have replaced wooden homes with brick houses and paid for their children to study overseas.

Eric Chan moved from writing code for satellites and robots to building a company supplying durian paste for dishes. He later sold a controlling share for about $4.5 million, roughly 50 times his initial investment. Chan described changes in local households:

Everybody has been making good money.

They rebuilt their houses from wood to brick. And they can afford to send their children overseas for university.

Durian farm owner Jovi Kong accumulated luxury cars and two properties, one in Raub and another in Kuala Lumpur. In 2019, he described the town's prosperity:

Raub is very different from other Malaysian towns, the people living here are rich.

At Uncle Thing's farm, Japanese pickup trucks have replaced the rickety jeeps once used to carry crates. Family businesses divide the work, with sons often helping transport durians and daughters handling accounts and finances.

Lu, known locally as Uncle Thing, described the fruit's contribution:

Durian has contributed a lot to the economy here.

Packaging, logistics, processing and related services have expanded alongside the orchards. Restaurants and hotels also benefit from tourists seeking an authentic Musang King experience. Raub's wealth therefore extends beyond the people who own trees to businesses that prepare, move and sell their harvest.

Fresh exports open a demanding market

China has become the world's largest durian importer, accounting for approximately 95% of global demand. More than 90% of the world's durian exports head to Chinese markets. Malaysia's share of that trade gained a new route in 2024, when a bilateral agreement opened China to its fresh durians after earlier access had been limited to frozen products.

China imported RM1 billion worth of durian from Malaysia in 2024. Fresh access improved Malaysia's ability to compete, but its harvesting method creates a demanding delivery schedule.

Malaysian durians ripen naturally on trees and fall before they are collected. This produces richer flavour and softer flesh than Thai and Vietnamese durians, which are picked from trees and ripen during transportation. The Malaysian fruit also has a shorter shelf life.

Fresh Malaysian durians need a complete cold chain, meaning temperature control throughout storage and transport, to reach consumers within 48 hours of falling. Air freight helps meet that deadline but makes transport more expensive, reinforcing the fruit's premium price position.

The Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, known as MayCham, projected that China's durian imports from Malaysia would rise by 15% to 20% in 2025 despite weather challenges in Malaysia. That was a forecast for 2025; a final result was not given.

MayCham chairman Loh Wee Keng described the cost of the best fruit at the farm:

Right now, it is impossible to get Grade A Musang King below RM30 per kilogramme at farm price.

During the off-season like May, prices can go up to RM80 per kg.

The work behind the valuable harvest

Lu, 72, rises early to collect durians across steep, uneven ground. Fruit may be dangling from trees or resting in nets close to the ground. A falling durian struck his shoulder a few years ago, leaving pain that still flares up.

The farm owner cautioned against assuming that strong prices make the work simple:

It looks like farmers make easy money. But it is not easy.

Lu began growing durians in the 1980s, starting with kampung varieties, or village durians. Prices were volatile and profits were small. He recalled the pressure that led some farmers, including himself, to convert land to oil palms:

It was so terrible that some farmers began planting oil palm instead.

Better varieties and Musang King exports eventually brought stronger returns. At Uncle Thing's shop, harvested fruit is sorted into grades. Grade A contains large, round specimens, while Grade C contains smaller fruit with irregular shapes. A separate basket holds Grade AA durians, the most attractive specimens, destined for flights to China.

Orchard work also includes pruning, fertilisation and pest management. Raub's hilly terrain makes machinery difficult to use, so much of the work is manual. Younger generations are increasingly reluctant to take on such physically demanding jobs, creating concern about the industry's future labour supply.

Why strong demand can coexist with falling prices

Malaysia has also experienced an oversupply that pushed Musang King prices down to RM10 ($2.4) per kilogram from RM60 to RM80 during the main harvest season. Some growers responded by selling directly from their orchards to consumers, removing intermediaries to keep their businesses operating.

Faisal Iswardi Ismail, deputy director general for Food Security and Operations at the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority, attributed the surplus to newer orchards producing lower quality cloned varieties such as Musang King. Those fruits failed to meet export standards for major markets including China and Singapore.

A premium variety's name therefore does not guarantee access to premium buyers. Fruit must also meet the quality and export requirements of its destination. Malaysia's surplus of fruit that cannot qualify for those markets can sit alongside high prices for Grade A exports.

The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority bought affected village durians and sent them to specialised facilities for processing into paste and pulp. Processing gives farmers another outlet when selling whole fruit becomes difficult.

The authority also launched the Agro MADANI sales programme. It sold more than 30 tonnes of durians and seasonal fruits in two days, with RM100,000 in revenue on the first day alone.

A land dispute threatens orchards in Raub

Pahang authorities have felled thousands of durian trees they say were planted illegally on state land. Farmers say they cultivated the land for decades without problems and now face demands to pay a lease or leave.

Between March and April 2025, the Pahang State Enforcement Unit carried out operations against illegal Musang King plantations covering 202 hectares near Raub. The Save the Musang King Alliance, representing most of the affected farmers, accused the state government of violating a Court of Appeal order issued in May 2024 that forbade cutting trees or destroying structures. No resolution of that dispute was given.

The farmers' account reaches back to the Malayan Emergency, which lasted from 1948 to 1960. Many Chinese farmers who fled to the fringes of the Malayan jungles cleared and cultivated land outside legal plots. Their argument rests partly on what they describe as past encouragement of informal agriculture.

In 1974, Malaysia introduced the Green Book Plan, encouraging citizens to undertake short term gardening or farming for personal consumption. These farmers then remained undisturbed for decades. Their long use of the land and the authorities' position on ownership are at the centre of the present conflict.

The main dates connecting Raub's farming history with its new export market are:

• 1948 to 1960: The Malayan Emergency formed part of the history behind Chinese farmers settling near jungle areas.
• 1974: The Green Book Plan encouraged gardening and farming for personal consumption.
• May 2024: The Court of Appeal issued the order cited by the Save the Musang King Alliance.
• 2024: A bilateral agreement opened China to fresh Malaysian durians.
• March to April 2025: Pahang enforcement operations covered 202 hectares near Raub.
• June 2025: Malaysia's accumulated durian shipments to China since 2018 reached 115,359 tonnes, worth RM6.37 billion.

Thailand and Vietnam lead the regional race

China imported 1.43 million tonnes of fresh durians worth $6.7 billion in 2023. Thailand and Vietnam supplied 99.8% of those imports, leaving Malaysia to compete largely through the reputation and price of its premium varieties.

Vietnam gained approval to export fresh durians to China in July 2022 and became the second largest supplier in less than two years, with ambitions to overtake Thailand. In the first seven months of 2024, its fresh durian exports to China reached $1.22 billion, up 46% from the same period a year earlier.

Vietnam briefly moved ahead in the first two months of 2024, accounting for 62% of durians exported to China. Thailand returned to first place after its harvest in the second quarter.

Vo Tan Loi, director of fruit exporter Phuong Ngoc Cai Be Company in Vietnam's Tien Giang province, described the branding gap:

While Vietnam has durian varieties that are not found in Thailand and Malaysia, such as the Ri6 durian, it lacks a famous variety like Malaysia's Musang King.

Vietnam's land border provides another advantage. Its durians can reach Chinese markets in approximately 36 hours through the Friendship Pass, compared with at least three to four days for Thai fruit. Vo explained:

Being connected to China by land enables Vietnam to transport durians by trucks or trains, which is faster and less expensive.

Cambodia became the latest Southeast Asian country approved to export fresh durians to China in April 2025. Lim Chin Khee, an adviser to Durian Academy, described its challenge:

Cambodia is still building its reputation in the international market.

It lacks the long-standing brand recognition of Thailand's Monthong or Malaysia's premium Musang King.

Durian trade becomes a diplomatic gesture

Beijing's agreements with producers across Southeast Asia have been presented as celebrations of ties with Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos. Chinese state media described the competition in 2024 with the declaration:

In this durian competition, everyone's a winner.

Trade agreements accompany Chinese investment in regional infrastructure. The China-Laos Railway, launched in 2021, transports more than 2,000 tonnes of fruit every day, most of them Thai durians.

Premium fruit has also become a diplomatic gift. During a state visit in 2024, Malaysia's King Ibrahim presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with two boxes of premium durians, including Musang King. Earlier that year, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim were filmed tackling a durian with a knife and spoon.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi linked those gestures to commercial plans in November 2024:

Durian diplomacy is not just diplomacy, it is durian business.

We need to work with Chinese businessmen to further develop Musang King plantations in Malaysia, and we should also strengthen downstream industries together.

Downstream industries turn harvested fruit into products such as paste, pulp and prepared foods. For China, the trade forms part of a broader "food silk road," a network of investment and agreements intended to diversify food imports across different regions.

New Zealand sends most of its premium gold kiwifruit to China. The Chinese market is also an important destination for Chilean cherries and Kenyan avocados, placing durian within a wider trade in valuable imported fruit.

Protecting the Musang King name

Malaysia has renewed Musang King's intellectual property status until March 2034. The designation means the variety "belongs to Malaysia" and cannot be claimed by durian sellers from other countries.

That protection matters in China, where consumers encounter far more Thai and Vietnamese durians because of their much larger import volumes. Respect for Malaysia's intellectual property status is intended to support authenticity and prices that can be four to five times higher than those of other durian types.

Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform, who is also helping a Shenzhen importer sell Malaysian durians in Guangzhou, described the commercial value of the trademark:

After price wars, in terms of quality and branding, the trademark might be a relatively good strategy.

Earlier incidents involved Thai buyers harvesting unripe Musang King in Malaysia and selling it to China as "Thailand Musang King." The Thai government banned those actions and stopped imports of Malaysian durians before the incident was closed. The episode also prompted Malaysia to accelerate negotiations on fresh exports to China.

Malaysia has worked to teach Chinese consumers the characteristics of its varieties. Some traders have labelled kampung durians as Musang King to charge more, damaging trust in the market.

Loh Wee Keng urged honest descriptions and greater familiarity with the fruit:

Even kampung durians have a market if sold honestly. We have to educate Chinese consumers on the real characteristics of Musang King, D24 and others.

China seeks its own durian supply

China's island province of Hainan has been developing domestic durian cultivation in pursuit of what state media calls "durian freedom." Its first locally grown durians reached the market with considerable publicity in 2023, and its 2025 harvest was expected to reach 2,000 tonnes.

Chinese state media expressed the ambition in August 2024:

For one thing, we won't have to rely on Thai and Vietnamese vendors when buying durians anymore!

Hainan's production currently accounts for less than 1% of China's durian consumption. Its expansion nevertheless presents a potential challenge for exporters whose businesses depend on Chinese purchases.

Differences in soil and climate affect the taste of Hainan's fruit. Loh argued that Malaysian Musang King would retain its identity:

Hainan Musang King cannot replace the Malaysian original.

The taste is different due to the soil and climate. My friend also tried growing it here, but it wasn't successful.

Lu took a more practical view of China's cultivation efforts:

Hainan has already succeeded in its experiment. If they have their own supply and start importing less, our market will be affected. But that is not something we can worry about. All that we can do is take good care of our farms and boost yields.

Others in Raub remain confident that Hainan cannot match Malaysian durians. The commercial issue is how far China's own production grows and how that affects purchases from the orchards supplying its market.

Expansion brings environmental and food safety costs

New durian plantations in Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia have contributed to deforestation, disrupting habitats and ecosystems. That expansion creates risks for endangered wildlife, including the Malayan tiger.

In Vietnam, many coffee farmers have switched to durian, adding pressure to global coffee prices already affected by severe weather. Vietnamese authorities have asked local governments to review plantation sizes, coordinate planning and promote professionally managed durian plantations rather than unplanned expansion.

Food safety has also affected access to China. In 2024, Chinese authorities found a carcinogenic chemical dye in Thai durians, believed to have been used to make the fruit appear more yellow. That year, China suspended durian imports from 15 Vietnamese packaging factories and 18 plantations after finding excessive cadmium, a heavy metal, in recent batches.

Vo Huu Thoai, head of Vietnam's Southern Fruit Research Institute, called for stronger controls:

With China's increasingly stringent requirements for imported fruits, the relevant Vietnamese parties should enhance their management of durian plantations and packaging factories to ensure that the price of durians is reasonable and that the fruit is safe for consumption.

Buyers in Malaysia and Singapore have a different concern: large fresh exports to China could make fruit more expensive at home. Tan Guet Meng, a 54-year-old Kuala Lumpur resident and business owner, expressed that worry:

It seems that durians will be increasingly expensive now that fresh durians are sold to China.

Raymond Ng, who operates durian stalls in Singapore, described the pressure on sellers and customers:

If Malaysia exports durians to China on a large scale, Singaporeans may end up eating durians at expensive prices. If prices increase, we can only roll with it. In fact, durians are already not cheap now.

Malaysia's ambition reaches beyond the orchard

Malaysia's durian export value is projected to reach RM1.8 billion by 2030, with an export volume of 69,000 tonnes. The government continues to promote cooperation with Chinese businesses to expand Musang King plantations and activities that process harvested fruit into other products.

Industry views place Malaysia in a different price and quality segment from Thai durians. Its premium fruit also competes for spending that Chinese consumers might direct towards other expensive imports.

Loh described those competitors:

We are actually competing with kiwis and cherries as well as those products from Japan such as strawberries and grapes.

Raub has embraced its identity as the "Musang King Durian Town." Its signs, murals, orchards and processing businesses reflect how Chinese consumer preferences have reshaped an economy once associated with gold.

Farmers now have to protect quality and reputation while managing fluctuating prices, land disputes, physical demands, regional competition and China's efforts to produce its own durians. Export growth offers opportunities, but the fruit reaching premium buyers must meet their standards, arrive fresh and carry a name they trust.

The Bottom Line

• Raub has an estimated 150,000 durian trees across approximately 2,000 hectares.
• China imported a record $7 billion worth of durians in 2024, three times the 2020 value.
• Malaysia shipped 115,359 tonnes of durian products worth RM6.37 billion to China between 2018 and June 2025.
• Fresh Malaysian durians gained access to China in 2024 and require delivery within 48 hours of falling from trees.
• Premium Musang King fruit can fetch $14 to $100 each, while lower quality supplies have experienced sharp price falls.
• Pahang's enforcement operations covered 202 hectares near Raub in March and April 2025, drawing objections from affected farmers.
• Thailand and Vietnam supplied 99.8% of China's fresh durian imports in 2023.
• Malaysia renewed Musang King's intellectual property status until March 2034.
• Hainan's expected 2025 durian harvest was 2,000 tonnes, with domestic production accounting for less than 1% of Chinese consumption.
• Malaysia projects durian exports worth RM1.8 billion, involving 69,000 tonnes, by 2030.