Central China province starts direct import of fruit

CHANGSHA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The central Chinese province of Hunan on Tuesday started directly importing fruit from abroad. Previously the imports arrived via other Chinese ports.

The first batch of such fruit -- 600 kg of durian and pineapple from Thailand -- arrived at the airport of the provincial capital Changsha on Tuesday morning, Changsha customs told Xinhua.

Despite rising market demand, imported fruit used to enter Hunan via other Chinese ports like Shanghai and Guangzhou, and the long journey pushed up prices and reduced taste.

Customs officials said the province also planned to expand direct imports to cover more fruit categories from Australia, Thailand and Malaysia.