JAKARTA: Indonesia, one of the world's leading producers and exporters of durian, aims to increase the value of its durian farming across the archipelago, particularly for the Chinese market. To achieve this, the country plans to conduct further research on"the king of fruits" and expand its plantations, reported Xinhua.
Amid the growing demand for the exotic fruit in the Chinese market, the Indonesian government has made an arrangement involving the Beijing Genomics Institute to conduct a study to ensure high-quality durians for export, as one of the steps to achieve the target. According to data from Statistics Indonesia, the archipelago last year produced up to 1.85 million tonnes of durians and more than 50 per cent of total production came from the island of Java. East Java province is reported to be the largest durian producer in the country, with production amounting to more than 480,000 tonnes last year.
Over the past several years, the Indonesian government has been calling on farmers in the country to grow durian trees since the fruit has become a valuable commodity.