Mulling over patenting Musang King

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is considering patenting the Musang King durian variety internationally to establish it as a recognised Malaysian agricultural product.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu believes this move is imperative, especially considering the widespread popularity of Musang King durians abroad, particularly in China.

“The Agriculture Department and its international trade unit will initiate the move to patent the Musang King.

“The variety must be recognised as a Malaysian product because it is getting popular, particularly in China,” he said. 

He said this at a press conference, following the distribution of cash aid to 2,546 padi farmers affected by floods in August and September last year under the Muda Agriculture Development Authority (Mada).

He explained that while industry players manage the export of Malaysian durians, the ministry ensures compliance with quality standards.

“We are overseeing the quality assurance to ensure that our durians are being shipped fresh,” he said, reported NST. 

Last week, Malaysia and China signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to permit the export of fresh Malaysian durians to China.

Malaysian durian paste or pulp was allowed to be exported to China in 2011, while frozen durians were allowed to be exported to China in 2018.