SHENZHEN - Shekou Port in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen saw its fruit container throughput rise 46 percent to nearly 17,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in the first quarter of 2020.

The fruits were mainly dragon fruit, bananas, coconuts, pineapples and oranges, according to China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPort).

CMPort said a large number of durians from Thailand have also arrived at the port in batches since this month.

The port has facilitated the clearance process for the pricey but perishable fruit. Durians can be unloaded by distributers within two hours before hitting the market directly.

In 2019, Shekou Port handled a total of 44,000 TEUs of fruit containers, most imported from Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Egypt and Ecuador.