China's Spring Festival Drives Demand for ASEAN Fruit

Nanning (ANTARA) - January and February are the busiest months of the year for fruit trader Huang Chunlian. In the run-up to the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, Huang receives numerous orders and enquiries for fruit, nuts and other delicacies imported from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

At her shop in Pingxiang, a city on the China-Vietnam border in the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi, southern China, her phone buzzes constantly with new messages as she handles orders from regular customers whilst uploading social media updates promoting gift packages of Thai Monthong durian and pomelo.

The Spring Festival is China’s most important family reunion occasion and a peak period for households to purchase premium fruit and nuts to entertain returning family members and visiting relatives. Imported fruit, including cherries from Chile and tropical fruit from ASEAN, have joined the shopping festivities during the celebration in recent years.

According to Li Lan, a resident of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi, imported fruit has become an essential part of her family’s celebration preparations. “Thai pomelo is a must-have — some for ourselves and some as gifts when visiting relatives,” she said.

“I used to buy from shops. This year I joined several group chats to purchase fruit collectively,” she added, noting that ordering via online platforms made it easier to compare prices and quality whilst saving time.

China is one of the world’s largest fruit consumer markets. Data shows that in 2025, China imported 9.03 million tonnes of fruit worth 18.94 billion US dollars, up 17.5 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively.

Importers in Guangxi, located close to Southeast Asia, directly feel the surge in demand for ASEAN fruit ahead of the festival. Ma Chengyi, general manager of Guangxi Ningming Tianze Customs Broker Co., Ltd., said his company had imported more than 100 truckloads of ASEAN fruit through Aidian Port since January, with cargo values exceeding 45 million yuan (1 yuan = Rp2,437) or approximately 6.48 million US dollars (1 US dollar = Rp16,826), a 63 per cent jump from the previous year.

“January is not durian harvest season, but we still imported around 200 containers of durian and other fruit last month, compared with only dozens of containers during the same period last year,” said Wu Mingzhe, manager of Guangxi Asia Global International Freight Co., Ltd.

Ma and Wu attributed their business surge to China’s growing interest in ASEAN fruit and faster customs clearance processes.

Also in Guangxi, Qinzhou Port has expanded maritime routes connecting China with major fruit-producing areas in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. In 2025, the port operated 44 ASEAN shipping routes, providing additional fruit import channels beyond overland border crossings.

Durian accounts for a large share of these imports. Last year, China imported fresh durian worth 7.49 billion US dollars, up 7.1 per cent compared with the previous year, whilst import volumes surged nearly 20 per cent to 1.87 million tonnes. Thailand and Vietnam are the main durian suppliers.

At Guangxi’s border ports, the main gateway for ASEAN agricultural products entering China, durian, mangosteen and other fresh fruit arrive by truck and pass through express customs lanes to markets across China in a seasonal surge that traders have dubbed the “sweet travel rush”.

Fan Lihui, an official from the border inspection department at Friendship Pass, said the latest inspection system had cut inspection times to approximately 15 seconds per truck, improving efficiency by around 75 per cent.

“Jackfruit picked in Tien Giang Province, Vietnam, in the morning can arrive at fruit markets in Nanning by the afternoon and then be dispatched across China,” Fan said, adding that digital platforms now enable companies to submit customs declarations remotely, eliminating the need for paper documents.

“Chinese consumers’ growing preference for fresher, higher-quality imported food is transforming holiday shopping patterns and supporting the sustained growth of ASEAN fruit imports,” said Wu Mingzhe.