Delayed Peaks and Price Hikes for Durians

(Sourced from Yearofthedurian.com. Rows of durians placed on display to attract customers)

AMPANG, 5 July 2016: Durian sellers are experiencing difficult times as their businesses are affected by the extreme heat wave throughout the nation.

The dry weather has led to decimation of crops and delays in the king of fruit peak season which durian sellers expect to last until the end of July. Durian vendors have commented that the durian fruit supplies have decreased by almost fifty percent compared to previous year. The quality of the fruits has also been affected, with some of the durians fleshes appear to be drier and the smells as well as the taste are not as strong.

“The weather has caused the quality of durians such as Black Pearl and Green Bamboo unsuitable to be sold to customers. Even for Mao Shan Wang durians, the rejection rate is fifty percent because the fruit are not perfectly ripe,” said Ah Chong, a durian seller at Jalan Cempaka.

This situation has caused the price of durians to increase in the market. Fruits2U owner, Zhou Lim, 52, who has been in the durian business for 30 years, sold his Mao Shan Wang durians for RM 25 per 1kg, a thirty percent increase from last year. However, despite the price hike, customers are still buying durians, although at a smaller portion.

It’s a different case for Latifah Awang, 35, a huge durian fan who said she is willing to pay extra if the quality is good.

“Since my family and I love durians, we will buy no matter the price. The quality is all we care about,” she remarked.

Although most durian vendors claimed that the price hikes will change in the future, they urged the public to avoid having durian-related activities presently as the quality and supplies of the king of fruits is unpredictable.

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