MASkargo has flown four tonnes of frozen whole durian fruits from Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai on one of its Airbus A330 freighter aircraft.
Flight MH6170 departed KLIA at 06.00h yesterday (19 June) and touched down at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 17.35h (all local times) after a scheduled stop in Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah on the island of Borneo.
MASkargo’s chief commercial officer, Jason Thomas said: “Previously, Malaysian durians could only be shipped into China in pulp or paste form. The regulation is no longer applicable and now frozen whole Malaysian durians can be flown into China. This is a great development for us in terms of expanding our business.
“The boom in durian export follows the deregulation by China which now allows whole durians from Malaysia to be imported. The fruits are a big hit in China and we are happy to be part of this demand. From the acceptance at our Perishable centre, these fruits are kept fresh in our cold rooms before being shipped in the temperature-controlled Envirotainers.”
Thomas said MASkargo is working closely with the Malaysian Quarantine & Special Services Department (MAQIS) to ensure all the stringent export requirements are met and will be putting in “more efforts” to make sure operations of these shipments are smooth, as it is expecting more shipments of durians on flights to China.
“At the same time, strong collaborations are in place with the ground handlers in China for seamless operations there too,” he added.
Thomas also said: “We would like to thank the exporter, BEHO Fresh Sdn Bhd, and the durian processing factory, PHG Ever Fresh Food Sdn Bhd, for choosing MASkargo for this inaugural delivery.
“We would also like to congratulate both companies and those who have passed China’s stringent import protocol for frozen whole fruit durians into the country.”
