Not long ago, eating a whole durian was a splurge for many Chinese households, with the fruit’s demanding storage and transport requirements helping to keep prices high.This summer, the pungent spiky fruit has become cheap enough for “durian price plunge” to become a trending topic on Chinese social media. Retail prices for some durians have nearly halved, plunging to below 40 yuan (US$6) per kilogram, according to Chinese media reports.At Guangzhou’s Jiangnan wholesale fruit and vegetable market, the largest of its kind in China, reference prices for Thai and Vietnamese durians have ranged from 28 to 31 yuan per kilogram so far in August, compared with 29 to 39 yuan per kilogram in August last year.The drop in durian prices in China – the world’s biggest market, accounting for more than 90 per cent of global durian consumption – came amid rising imports and expanding cross-border transport links.The China-Laos-Thailand all-rail cold-chain service, launched in March, runs regularly from Thailand through China’s Yunnan province to Chengdu in Sichuan. It enables Southeast Asian fruit to reach the Chinese market in as little as three days, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.A special durian train arrives at China Railway Intermodal Kunming Central Station in April. Photo: China Railway Kunming GroupMeanwhile, according to the outlet, the Lancang-Mekong Express freight service has cut the journey from the Laotian capital of Vientiane to Kunming in Yunnan to 26 hours. From there, fruit including durians, mangosteens and longans can reach major Chinese cities in just two days.