PAKSE, Laos -- Chinese businessman Tao Jian spends an entire day navigating muddy roads on the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos, inspecting his durian empire of 50,000 trees. The area is nicknamed the country's coffee capital, but soon it may also be known for the smelly, spiky "king of fruits" for which China has an insatiable appetite.
Tao's company Jinguo -- literally "golden fruits" in Chinese -- just had its very first harvest this year. "I believe Laos will soon become the world's fourth-largest durian producer, after Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia," the 54-year-old told Nikkei Asia.
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