Durian records top search by Chinese consumers via Alibaba.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Durians and durian based products are currently among the top search in the Alibaba.com e-commerce site by consumers from China, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the government was looking at exporting durians in the form of fruits as the durians that are being exported had been peeled and in the form of cookies-based products and durian flavoured cakes.
"If you look at the top search in Alibaba.com by consumers from China, all matters regarding durian is the number one search in that portal.
"The Agro Based Ministry is actually in the midst of talks and we will soon know how we can export durians more easily," he said during the Dewan Rakyat sitting here today.
Ahmad was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP-Beruas) who wanted to know the extent of the government's large-scale durian export system to facilitate their cultivation of the fruit.
Earlier replying to the original question from Datuk Othman Abdul (BN-Pendang), Ahmad said bilateral trade between Malaysia and China in the first nine months of this year reached RM212.94 billion compared to RM170.64 billion in the same period last year.
He said the total exports from Jan until Sept this year rose by 35.3% to RM91.87 billion while the total imports increased by 19.7% to RM121.08 billion.
Ahmad said, as of Dec 31 last year, a total of 220 manufacturing projects involving participation from China had been implemented with an investment valued at RM14.2 billion, generating 33,020 job opportunities. — Bernama