Most expensive durian in the world? Musang King auctioned off for $52.5k in Malaysia

How much would you pay for a durian? 

For one bidder in Malaysia, $50,000 is a fair amount. 

A fund-raising event held in Pahang on Sunday (Dec 17) saw durians fetching astronomical prices. 

In an Instagram post, Fadzli Mohamad Kamal, who is the chairman of the Pahang committee for communications and multimedia, youth, sports and non-governmental organisations, shared that a Musang King durian from Raub district in Pahang was sold for a whopping RM185,000 (S$52,500). 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/fadzlikamal_/p/C09b3BNRkTs/?hl=en&img_index=2[/embed]

He claimed that this made it one of the most expensive durians in the world. 

He said that the durian's price started from RM2,000 and soared after several bids were made. 

The winning bid came from a man named Huang Qi Wen. 

It wasn't the only durian that fetched high prices. 

Fadzli revealed that second-highest bid fruit was a Black Thorn durian, which went up to RM15,000. 

"In total, RM404,444 was successfully collected through the bidding," he shared.

The proceeds from the auction will be donated to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sungai Ruan, a school in Raub, to improve its infrastructure.

Typically, the price of Musang King durians can range from $16/kg to $21/kg depending on its origin, quality, seller and demand, according to a durian price guide by Durian Express Delivery.

There have been other expensive durians 

In 2019, a durian fruit was sold for a staggering 1.5 million baht (S$57,000) at an auction in Thailand.

The kanyao variety, which is the most expensive in the world, attracted bids from dozens of wealthy fruit lovers at the event in Nonthaburi. 

Officials had handpicked the durian just a day before the auction from a nearby farm, where the minimum price of the fruit is 20,000 baht. 

Maliwan Han Chai Thai, owner of the Pa Toi Lung Mu farm where the 1.5 million baht durian was grown, said: ''I knew this was a very special durian but I was amazed at how much it sold for. I was expecting one million baht so for it to sell more is very good.

The fruit was eventually sold to a wealthy local businessman.

ALSO READ: American woman's first taste of durian in Singapore leaves locals impressed

melissateo@asiaone.com