On May 28th, the First Kunming Imported Durian Promotion Conference and the unveiling ceremony of the South Asia and Southeast Asia Fruits Import and Export Trade Distribution Center (Kunming) were held at Yunnan Hongyun International Trade Port in Kunming Economic and Technological Development Zone (Free Trade Pilot Zone, Kunming Area).

This first edition of the Imported Durian Promotion Conference attracted over 300 government and business representatives. During the event, Xu Bo, Director of the Modern Logistics Industry Chain Office in Kunming, and Li Rongping, Chairman of Yunnan Hongyun International Trade Port, jointly unveiled the South Asia and Southeast Asia Fruits Import and Export Trade Distribution Center (Kunming). Yunnan Hongyun International Trade Port signed cooperation agreements with Thailand’s KAF Group, Chongqing HAWEI Fresh Food Supply Chain Technology Co., Ltd., and Guangzhou Jiafeng Agricultural Products Trading Co., Ltd.

According to reports, Yunnan Hongyun International Trade Port has partnered with China United International Rail Containers Co., Ltd. to establish an “Off-site Station,” creating a “railway hub + integrated park” model. The “Durian Special Railway” travels directly from Thai orchards to the Kunming market in just three days, ensuring seamless cold chain logistics with preserved freshness. Since April last year, over 9,000 containers of imported durians and mangosteens, worth more than 7.2 billion RMB, have been dispatched through the port. 

Li Rongping stated, “The ‘Off-site Station’ of Hongyun Port is characterized by ‘speed, efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness,’ enabling the world’s durians to reach customers’ homes in one stop.” With an area covering 224 “mu” (a traditional Chinese unit of area), the park features over 10,000 square meters of smart cold storage facilities and 274 logistics outlets. It has attracted 106 enterprises, forming a distribution hub for Southeast Asian fruits. Relying on the China-Laos Railway “Lancang-Mekong Express” and the seamless connection with the “Off-site Station,” the multimodal transport speed has improved significantly: customs clearance from Mohan Port to Kunming has been reduced from 40 hours to just 5 hours. The cold storage is fully temperature-controlled and equipped with rapid sorting facilities, locking in freshness from harvesting to sale. Additionally, the one-stop service significantly reduces logistics costs by over 30%, allowing the benefits of the “Belt and Road Initiative” to be tangible for businesses. 

Li Rongping remarked, “Today’s durian promotion event brings together top suppliers from Thailand and leading distributors nationwide. In the future, more than 8,000 refrigerated containers of Southeast Asian fruits will pass through here annually, reaching thousands of households.”

Zhao Hongwei, Deputy General Manager of HAWEI Supply Chain Group, explained that establishing the “Kunming Central Station” is a strategic move to extend the scope of the logistics hubs, expand service areas and chains, and create a unified platform with standardized pricing for the China-Laos, China-Vietnam, China-Myanmar, and Western Land-Sea New Corridors. This “one-stop” service model aims to reduce logistics costs further, enhance efficiency, and promote the healthy development of surrounding industrial chains.

Zhao Hongwei added that the promotion conference facilitated the exchange and dissemination of durian cultivation techniques, supporting the scaling-up, standardization, and professionalism of durian farming. It aims to improve both yield and quality, providing a solid foundation for all parties to collaboratively build an open, inclusive, transparent, and sustainable trade ecosystem for Southeast Asian agricultural products.

Click here to view the Chinese report

(Editors: Jennifer, Ines)