Durains Photo: Chengdu Fabu

A China-Laos-Thailand all-rail cold-chain freight train, carrying fresh Thai durians, departed on Monday, marking a new cross-border transport corridor for fruit, Chengdu International Railway Port Investment and Development (Group) Co, the cold-chain operator, told the Global Times in a statement on Tuesday.

This marks the latest progress in opening faster channels for Southeast Asian fruits entering the Chinese market, which will inject fresh momentum into China-Laos-Thailand trade and help drive consumption upgrading in western part of China, industry analysts said.

The train runs entirely on rail, passing through Nong Khai in Thailand and Vientiane South in Laos, entering China via the Mohan port in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province before heading to the Chengdu International Railway Port, the statement said.

With advantages including direct railway delivery, full-process freshness preservation and cost efficiency, it reshapes the transport model for Southeast Asian fruit imports and offers Chinese consumers a new fresh produce experience.

Compared with the existing Vientiane South–Chengdu route, the newly launched route extends the rail starting point from Laos to Laem Chabang in Thailand, directly linking to key durian-producing areas in eastern Thailand.

Fresh fruit is transported from orchards to Laem Chabang within five hours by road before being loaded onto the train for direct shipment to Chengdu, reducing transfer time and improving efficiency. 

Meanwhile, the closed-loop cold-chain system maintains a constant temperature of 13°C from loading to unloading, ensuring optimal freshness.

Durians, a flagship fruit massively exported from Southeast Asia to China, have seen strong import momentum. Kunming Daily, citing Kunming Customs, reported that imports of durians through multiple ports including Tianbao, Mohan and Hekou have increased since the start of this year.

In the first two months of the year, the value of durian imports through Yunnan ports reached 2.05 billion yuan, up 351.6 percent year-on-year, ranking first nationwide, the report said.

Global Times