Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan called Zulhas said that the high demand for durian from China could reach a value of US$ 8 billion or more than IDR 128 trillion. Therefore, his party is currently continuing the durian export process that has been started since some time ago.
"We have been processing durian exports to China for a long time because the value is very large, if I'm not mistaken, US$ 8 billion," said Zulhas to reporters after leading a special cross-sector meeting held at the BPPT I building on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
Previously, the same thing was expressed by the Director General of National Export Development Didi Sumedi who stated the high demand for durian commodities in China. "In the Chinese market, durian is booming in demand there. Well, this is what we have to try to fill and also other markets because our exotic fruit is quite in demand," said Didi at the Ministry of Trade Building on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
He then brought the good news to durian farmers. "We conveyed it to the plantation farmers. There is a fairly large demand to be filled, even China's demand could reach US$ 8 billion for durian alone," he said.
Meanwhile, Zulhas said, currently Indonesia is only able to provide durian paste products for export. According to him, in addition to the more complicated and lengthy production process, the product that is usually used to make ice cream has a cheaper selling price.
Therefore, the government is targeting Indonesia to also be able to export durian in the form of whole fruit in the near future. He also tried to export directly from Indonesia to China without transiting in other countries first.
"We have a lot (durian) from Central Sulawesi. From Central Sulawesi it goes to Thailand, from Thailand it is only allowed to go to China. That's cut again (the profit). How much percent is cut?" he said.
Zulhas explained, based on the results of the Indonesian Quarantine Agency meeting, China will conduct a direct review of Indonesia to check the existence of durian commodities early next year. "Well, this has been processed earlier. Hopefully China will review here in January. It should have been yesterday, but there was a change in season, maybe January," he said.
After the process is complete, said Zulhas, then the signing of the memorandum of understanding or MOU for cooperation can be carried out. "So that we can export Indonesian durian directly to China. That's a very big market," he said.
Petruk Durian is a Superior Fruit from Jepara
One of the fruits that has many fans in Indonesia is durian, this fruit is often referred to as the "King of Fruit" with a soft, legit and sweet flesh texture, in Indonesia itself there are many types of durian that are famous and widely hunted by the public, one of which is Petruk durian.
Petruk durian is so legendary in Central Java, especially in Jepara Regency which is one of the best durian producers, this durian is so popular because it is very delicious, originating from Dukuh Randusari, Tahunan Village, Tahunan District, Jepara Regency, currently the parent tree in Jepara Regency is no longer there. However, the existence of this durian is still sustainable because its seeds have spread to various regions.
The name Petruk Durian came about by accident, when Mbah Kasmodiharjo, the owner of the durian tree, took part in a competition. Mbah Kasmodiharjo is better known by the surrounding community as petruk. In 1977, the Jepara Regency Government held a durian fruit competition. Mbah Kasmodiharjo won first place as the best and most delicious durian. Because at that time the durian did not have a name, the durian festival judges spontaneously called it Durian Petruk, taking the nickname from Mbah Kasmodiharjo.
After winning the durian competition, the name Mbah Kasmodiharjo became increasingly well-known to the wider community, his durian which has a legit, sweet, and fragrant taste invites many people to taste it, every durian season arrives, guests from outside the city, especially Jakarta, order Durian Petruk from Mbah Kasmodiharjo.
The shape of the Petruk Durian fruit is round and inverted (the tip is slightly pointed), the skin of the fruit is thin and yellowish green in color, the flesh of the fruit is yellow, finely fibrous, slightly soft, and tastes very sweet, the number of pongge per fruit ranges from 5-10 perfect seeds, the size of the seeds is small and the shape is oval, the production capacity is between 50 - 150 fruits per tree with each fruit weighing between 1 kg - 1.5 kg.
We can find this durian at the Jepara durian sales center, namely at the Ngabul market, however, if you want to enjoy durian fruit while enjoying the rural atmosphere, we can buy it directly from the tree owners who are spread in almost all villages in Tahunan, Bate Alit, and Bate Gede Districts.
This durian can grow in lowlands with an altitude of 100-500 m above sea level, plants grow optimally at pH 6-6.5, land drainage conditions must be good, with groundwater depths between 50-150 cm and 150-200 cm.
Petruk Durian trees prefer grumosol and andosol types of soil, both of which are fertile and rich in organic matter. These durian seeds are relatively resistant to root rot and stem borer pests.
