Durian lovers, get ready to pay more for your Musang King due to Malaysia situation

Brace yourselves durian lovers, be prepared to fork out more for your beloved Musang King (Mao Shan Wang) as prices of durians here are expected to be higher once the durian season gets under way. 

The annual main durian season in Singapore typically lasts from June to early September.

Across the borders, heavy rains have resulted in lower yields for the fruit, which is usually harvested between late May to early June, Malaysian durian producers told news publication The Malaysian Insight on Friday (May 6).

This has resulted in a 60 to 80 per cent reduction in the Musang King and Black Thorn varieties in Penang, Johor and Pahang, reported the publication.

These two varieties are much sought after by Singaporeans. 

Durian prices in Malaysia have also been pushed up by higher operating costs, labour shortage and the high cost of fertilisers due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, reported Malay Mail. 

What this simply means, said several Singapore durian sellers to AsiaOne, is that it will be "unavoidable" that Singaporeans will have to pay more for their durian fix since the cost of the fruit from Malaysia has increased.

Singapore is the third-largest market for durians in the world, importing more than 20 million kilograms of fresh durians a year.

Over 85 per cent of the durians are from Malaysia, reported Business Insider Malaysia in March.

99 Old Trees in Chinatown said that due to the bad weather in Malaysia, harvest at their durian farm in Pahang has been "badly affected" this year with production at only 25 to 30 per cent of last year.

Founder Kelvin Tan estimated that prices of all varieties of durians here will increase from 10 to 25 per cent this season.

The average price for Musang King was around $26 per kilogram last year, he said. 

"We haven't really started the season yet… [But] I am quite sure that the price [of durians] will not be cheap this year," he added.

Besides the poor harvest in Malaysia, the increase in labour cost and inflation here means that durians becoming more expensive for consumers "cannot be helped", Fruit Monkeys co-founder Bernard Tan told AsiaOne.

Tan, who owns a durian store along Rangoon Road, said that he expects the increase to range from $2 to $3 per kilogram this season.

Durian fan David Adhikari told AsiaOne that he is willing to wait a year or two if there is a significant hike in the prices of durians this season.

The 26-year-old, who works in the maritime industry, said that he'd rather wait for durian prices to drop and then "spend money on a good quality D24 then". 

ALSO READ: Durian safety 101: How to avoid bringing home artificially ripened versions of the king of fruits

chingshijie@asiaone.com