Durian price dips as supply of King of Fruits increases

By Balvin Kaur

GEORGE TOWN: Durian lovers can now enjoy the fruit without having to fork out exorbitant prices.

Durian Kaki co-owner Tan Chee Wei, 36, said prices for the King of Fruits had gone down in tandem with the supply increase of the tropical fruit.

“At the start of the season, the price of durians was high because there was limited supply but now that we are well into the season, the supply has gone up which in turn has brought down the prices.

“The cheapest fruit you can get is a mixed breed for RM8 per kilo and the most expensive is still the Blackthorn at RM60 per kilo,” he said, when met at his durian stall.

He advised durian lovers, who did not wish to splurge, to choose the Kochabi, a small mixed breed fruit with about three or four seeds per fruit.

“You can get about five fruits for under RM50. Alternatively, there are also decent fruits which are around RM20 per kilo for those looking to spend a bit more on their fruit,” he said.

He said the durian price, however, was expected to go up again during the end of the season in August as the supply starts dwindling.

“The weather this year has been good for the harvest with fruits falling off after maturing,” he said.

Tan said that his durian fruits were from his father Tan Eow Chong’s farm and several other farms in Balik Pulau.

“This means that my supply is dependant on the local harvest so I always advise my customers not to wait until the end of the season to get their durian fix,” he said.

Asked on a viral news of three durians were being sold at RM3,000, Tan merely shrugged and said that the ‘seller was very skilled salesperson’.

He said the most he had charged for one durian, a Blackthorn, was about RM200 to RM300.

“It all depends on the weight of the fruit and at RM60 per kilogram, a four-kilogram Blackthorn can fetch up to RM240,” he said.

He said after being in the business for the last 30 years, they had made many changes and modernisation, including using a electronic weigh scale which prints out the price and weight of the fruit according to its specific code.

Tan also advised customers to check the price and weight properly before cutting open the fruit.

Checks at several other durian stalls showed that there was a slight variant in the prices of the fruit, with some selling the mixed breed for RM10 and a Blackthorn for RM65.

Many of the other outlets used manual weighing scale and almost all had tables and chairs for the customers to feast on the fruit on spot.