A shipment of 18 tons of durian from the Philippines arrives at Nanning Wuxu Airport in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Thursday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Eighteen tons of durian imported from the Philippines arrived at Nanning Wuxu Airport in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Thursday — the first shipment after the fruit was allowed to come into the country.

The shipment consisted of the premium Puyat variety, produced in the Davao region, which has a sweet, creamy flavor.

The Philippines, according to the General Administration of Customs of China, is the third country after Thailand and Vietnam to be approved for durian exports to China.

A shipment of 18 tons of durian from the Philippines arrives at Nanning Wuxu Airport in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Thursday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In recent years, China and the Philippines have developed closer bilateral cooperation — in agricultural products particularly. The Philippines is the biggest exporter of bananas and pineapples to China, which has become the third-biggest market for Philippine agricultural products.

Under the RCEP framework, which the Philippines joined in February, the two countries have been strengthening their trade and economic ties.