Malaysia

War in Ukraine Pushes Food Prices to Record High: FAO

The surge in food prices accelerated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February. Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of wheat and corn. Global food prices have hit record levels in the wake of the Ukraine war, the latest data from the Food and Agriculture Organization shows, raising concerns over food security and the conflict's impact on vulnerable populations across the world. The U.N.'s food price index rose to 159.3 in March, up 17.9 points, or 13%, from February and jumped 34% from a year ago. The index measures the monthly change in international prices for a basket of [...]

Plantations International Joins United Nations Global Compact

The Plantations International Group of Companies is very pleased to announce that is been accepted into the prestigious United Nations Global Compact. Plantations International pledges to support the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. With this communication, we express our intent to implement those principles. We are committed to making the UN Global Compact and its principles part of the strategy, culture, and day-to-day operations of our group, and to engaging in collaborative projects which advance the broader development goals of the United Nations, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals. Plantations International has [...]

China’s 2020 Fruit Imports Surpass $10 Billion – Durian Leading the Way

According to a report from the fruit branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products, China’s customs statistics indicate that the value of fruit imports exceeded $10 billion for the first time in 2020, reaching a total value of $10.26 billion — an 8% increase over the previous year. In contrast, the total fruit import volume declined by 8%, reaching 6.302 million tons. The decrease in import volume was largely attributable to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global supply chains. The top nine fruits in order of import value [...]

February 2021 News Update

Welcome to our February 2021 Plantations International update. In this issue... We have some very exciting news! New Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam New Plantation Management Company in Malaysia Mango Plantation in Thailand on Schedule Clients Harvests Proceeds Can Now be Paid Directly into a Visa Debit Card New Tahitian Vanilla bean grow-house in Cambodia New Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ~ Plantations International is very pleased to announce the opening of a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The new representative office trades under the name of Royal Plantations Co. Limited and [...]

Chinese Consumers Prefer Musang King Durian From Malaysia

Most of the durian currently available in the Chinese market are either  from Malaysia or from Thailand. Durian do not stay fresh for very long. They generally stay fresh for around 10 days. Malaysian durian, however, are frozen with liquid nitrogen technology that preserves 97% of the flavor and product quality. Their shelf life is around 18 months, which is more than 50 times the shelf life of fresh durian from Thailand. The Malaysian durian are more suitable for long-distance transport and online sales, while Thai durian are sold by local fruit vendors. Surveys show that the majority of Chinese consumers [...]

Malaysia’s Exports to China Increasing in spite of Pandemic

I met Ambassador Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin at the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing, when he was preparing to attend an event promoting durian. The durian on display was a premium durian from Malaysia, Musang King, a fruit that's popular in China. "This star shows it's Musang King Durian, secondly it helps you to open the fruit up. So it tells Musang King Durian from other varieties of durians," said the ambassador. The event gathered importers, consumers and popular social media figures, or key opinion leaders as they're known. An event promoter said quite a lot of Musang King durians are sold [...]

China’s ambassador to Malaysia Loves Musang King Durian

Musang King Durian Known for his love for the king of fruit, China’s ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian took to Douyin to promote the famed Musang King durian. Dubbed “the ambassador with the greatest love for durian” and “the best durian promoter”, he released a 90-second long video praising the fruit, from its appearance to the taste and characteristics. “The truth is, it’s very delicious!” lauded Bai in a video posted on the embassy’s Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) account on Sunday. It garnered over 4,600 likes and interest among users, who said that they can’t wait to fly over [...]