Malaysian durians have topped fruit and vegetable presales at a big Chinese retail festival, showing the pulling power of the pungent delicacy.
The top-selling variety at JD.com’s 618 festival — China’s second-largest shopping event after Alibaba’s Singles’ Day — was the Sultan durian from Pahang state, according to local media that cited data from the e-commerce giant. Sales have even exceeded that of ice cream and peaches.
With its creamy custard-like flesh and powerful odor, the thorny fruit has surged in popularity in China. Imports of fresh durians quadrupled to $2.3 billion last year from 2017, according to United Nations data, and they overtook cherries to become the country’s No. 1 fruit import by value in 2019.
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