50 tonnes of dodgy durian seized and destroyed in China

In a move that will attract thanks from 1000s of westerners, China has destroyed nearly 50 tonnes of illegally imported durian, valued around 5.5 million baht. The durians had been smuggled into China. Shiokou, a border town in Cao Bang Province in Vietnam, was where the dodgy durian was intercepted. The land port has been operating since 1792 and plays a major role in terms of trade between Vietnam and China. 16,266 tonnes of fruit have been imported into the China through the Shuikou land port since the start of 2020.

“Only durians officially imported from Thailand and Malaysia are allowed into the country.”

Chinese custom officials destroyed the fruit that had been smuggled into Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in Southern China. The durians were seized by the Chinese Anti-smuggling Agency from the Shuikou Customs. Officials found 49.58 tonnes of smuggled durians and seized 9 delivery trucks. They arrested 5 suspects allegedly connected to the smuggling of the illegal durian.

Shuikou Customs report that the durian had to be destroyed because they had arrived from an “unknown source”. Chinese customs state that they only allows durians to be imported from Thailand and Malaysia.

Lua Huachueng from the Chinese Anti-smuggling Agency commented that many durian importers have attempted to bring in durian grown in other nations, other than from Thailand or Malaysia.

“Officials are now on strict watch for smuggled durian, mainly because consumer’s health can be affected as the source is unknown.”

The illegally imported durians were to be converted into organic fertiliser rather than simply being thrown away.

“The durians need to be destroyed because they are not subjected to necessary quarantine and formalities placed. The durians have no sanitary certificates required for food safety with no information on the health risks posed.

SOURCE: Xinhua | Sanook

PS. We recognise that there are plenty of you that actually enjoy eating durian.