Daikin Reefer, Hernan Cooperation and Yidu Group have demonstrated that premium tree-drop Malaysian durian can be shipped to China by sea in 12 days
As reported earier this week, a consortium of Daikin Reefer, Hernan Cooperation and Yidu Group have completed the first successful live sea shipment of premium Malaysian durian to Dalian in 12 days.
On inspection in Dalian on 19 September the arrival quality of the two-tonne shipment matched air freight and was ”comparable to the fruit at origin, including after tasting”, the groups stated.
The shipment was inspected by all partners together with the trade commissioner from the Malaysian Embassy, who flew in from Beijing to attend.
Global popularity for durian is surging driven largely by China, which today accounts for over 90 per cent of worldwide consumption.
In 2025 Chinese imports totalled 1.87mn tonnes at a value of US$7.5bn.
This demand has made durian one of Southeast Asia’s highest-value fruit categories and in recent years, with Malaysian plantations expanding to cultivate more of its two most popular durian varieties – Musang King and Black Thorn – and serve the growing Chinese market.
Such harvesting challenges have traditionally made airfreight the only viable transport method capable of delivering ripe Malaysian durian to Chinese customers in an edible condition.
However, airfreight has limited capacity and is costly, creating concerns within the Malaysian durian industry around realising full export opportunities with such problematic logistics.
Two years ago, Daikin partnered with Hernan Cooperation on an intensive research programme into postharvest handling and shipment technology for tree-drop durian.
The work combined handling protocol development with static trials designed to simulate the conditions of a full sea voyage, and the resulting shipment to Dalian in September this year used Daikin’s Active controlled atmosphere technology
“This successful shipment was a significant moment for Hernan,” said Datuk Anna Teo, group CEO of Hernan Cooperation.
”We now see a viable logistics solution that removes the dependency on air cargo – a solution that will reduce carbon emissions and create commercial opportunities for durian exports to extend further into the mass market in China.”
“Malaysian agricultural exports will now benefit hugely from the potential to ship our renowned durian by sea rather than air freight, and we look forward to growing our trade with China further,” noted Niqman Rafaee Sahar, minister counsellor, Trade Commission, Embassy of Malaysia, Beijing.
“The Daikin Reefer team would like to thank all parties involved in this breakthrough shipment,” added Goh Ah Huat, general manager, global marketing and service at Daikin Reefer.
”Shifting Malaysian durian exports from air to sea reduces the carbon footprint of moving this fruit by around 70 times.
”We’re proud that Daikin Active CA technology has made this possible, unlocking a more efficient and cost-effective mode of transporting fresh tree-drop ripe durians,” he added.
