Balik Pulau 77 Durian Hill Sdn Bhd, a Penang durian orchard owner, aims to achieve RM1 million turnover once its frozen durians are exported to China next year.

Frozen-packed durians, which can retain their freshness for about one year, are suitable for export to foreign markets, said director Tang Boon Ley.

"We are currently working closely with the Forestry Department and other government agencies to enable us to obtain the licence to export our durians to China," he told Bernama when met as his orchard in Gertak Sanggul.

Tang said a group of Chinese businessmen visited his orchard recently to check on the durian yield during the season.

"We are currently negotiating with a Chinese company known as Durian Legend which will be selling our durians in China once we secure the licence to export," he said.

He said Musang King, Ang Heah, Hor Lor, 604 and D11 durians are highly sought-after in China especially in Xiamen, the capital of Fujian province.

"We are currently managing a few orchards in Penang including in Gertak Sanggul, Balik Pulau and Sungai Ara but all are registered as separate entities," he said.

He added that due to the high demand for durians in Xiamen, the group may need to secure more durians from other orchards next year for export.

Tang said the group annually produces about 12 tonnes of durian from three orchards during the season which is usually from May to July.

He also said that the group is currently doing some replanting on three of its orchards in order to produce good quality durians for export.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, Malaysia exported durians worth US$1.7 million (RM6.12 million) to China from January to March this year, with Xiamen accounting for US$700,000 (RM2.52 million).