KUALA LUMPUR: The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, through the Agriculture Department, is finalising the phytosanitary certificate with the General Administration of Customs China (GACC).
This follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding to export durian to the country.
Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the ministry is also in the process of submitting a list of existing durian farms and packaging facilities that have been exporting to China to GACC for approval to export fresh durians.
"Only durian farms and packaging facilities that apply and register with the department, comply with the good agricultural practices (myGAP) standards and received approval from FACC by adhering to the conditions stated in the protocol are allowed to export fresh durians to China.
"The ministry also expects the approval process for registration with GACC to take two to three months.
"The export of fresh durians is also expected to begin in the third quarter of 2024," he said during the minister's question time in Dewan Rakyat, today.
Mohamad said this in response to Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) who enquired about the ministry's efforts to speed up the process of exporting fresh durians to China and the time frame for when the exportation can start.
He said to expedite the process of gaining export market access for fresh durians from Malaysia to China, the ministry and the department have also been engaging in continuous negotiations with GACC.
Malaysia had signed an MoU with China last month for the exportation of fresh durians to China.
The ministry also said the MoU would further encourage the growth of the domestic durian industry and create opportunities for more than 63,000 durian entrepreneurs nationwide.
Malaysia was given market access to China for durian paste or pulp in 2011, while market access for frozen durians was granted in 2018.
Malaysia's durian exports worldwide recorded a value of RM1.14 billion in 2022. China was the primary export market for Malaysian durians, with an export value of RM887 million that year.