PARLIAMENT | Durian and its by-products are the top searches by consumers from China on e-commerce giant Alibaba.com, accroding to Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ahmad Maslan.

"Look at Alibaba.com, there is the popular search. Anything related to durian is the top search on Alibaba.com among consumers from China," he told the Dewan Rakyat during the question-and-answer session today.

Ahmad added that the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry was looking at ways to make the export of durian and durian-related products easier, with the outcome to be made known soon.

The Pontian MP also said that Putrajaya was seeking to penetrate the China market with the export of "Musang King" durians, such as through the Nov 3 to Nov 5 promotion programme in China.

He was responding to Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP-Beruas) who asked about the government's plan to improve the export mechanism of durian.

"Last year, we recorded a total RM70 million worth of durian, and this year expect to increase to RM100 million. We have plenty of lands that are suitable for durian planting.

"Will the government make it easy to export?" he asked, citing the drop in price of rubber and palm oil due to the export process.

Recently, only durian by-products and packed peel-off durian were allowed to be exported to China, Ngeh said.

The government is planning to export durian as a whole to China.