Thailand launches new 'odorless' durian variety

The strong "stinky" smell of ordinary durians often discourages people who want to eat durians. The Pak Chong-Khao Yai durian, which does not have a strong durian smell, has recently been granted Geographical Indication (GI) certification by the Thai government, The Nationa reported.

Pak Chong Khao Yai is one of the popular Golden Pillow varieties, mainly grown in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeastern Thailand. It is reported that this durian tastes sweet and soft, the flesh is dry, and more importantly, it does not have the strong smell unique to ordinary durians.

Lao citrus, Vietnamese passion fruit and South African pears allowed

Recently, the official website of the General Administration of Customs has updated the list of fresh fruit types and exporting countries/regions that have obtained my country's inspection and quarantine access, adding Lao citrus, Vietnamese passion fruit (trial import) and South African pear.

The Lao citrus fruits that have been granted access this time include oranges, grapefruits and lemons. The citrus planting area in Laos is about 3,620 hectares nationwide. It is expected that Laos will export about 50,000 tons of citrus fruits to China in 2022.

The customs requires that grapefruit exported to China must be bagged during the growth cycle, and the bagging time should be more than 60 days. If the fruit bags are found to be damaged before harvesting, they are not allowed to enter the workshop or factory that processes citrus for export to China. Before exporting to China, oranges and lemons must be cold-treated in a registered cold-treatment facility. Among them, the cold treatment index for oranges was 1.67°C or below for 18 consecutive days, and the lemons were 3°C or below for 18 consecutive days.

Passion fruit from Vietnam can be imported to the Chinese market on a pilot basis from July 1. The General Administration of Customs of China recommends that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct sampling inspections on export shipments. In addition, the passion fruit production process must comply with the Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice (VietGap) certification standard and the Global Good Agricultural Practice Standard (GLOBALGAP) requirements.

Statistics show that in 2020, the planting area of ​​South African pears will reach 12,913 hectares and the output will reach 438,468 tons. The export volume is about 210,000 tons, accounting for about half of the total production.

Part of the data comes from: International Fruit and Vegetable Report