Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant, has entered into a strategic arrangement with a local Malaysian durian supplier for the export of frozen Musang King (in whole fruit form) into China.

Alibaba’s online shopping platform, Tmall, together with its global aggregated sourcing platform for perishable food, Win-Chain, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia’s Beho Fresh Sdn Bhd, as well as China Certification & Inspection Group Malaysia (CCIC), for the initiative.

Alibaba said under the strategic cooperation plan, durian supplier Beho Fresh would be supplying Win-Chain with frozen whole Musang King durians for distribution on Tmall and other Chinese retail marketplaces owned by Alibaba.

Meanwhile, it said CCIC, an independent third-party inspection company accredited by China’s State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine and the Certification & Accreditation Administration of China, would provide product traceability inspection services to ensure fruits supplied to Win-Chain meet the country’s quality control standards.