‘Durian Tsunami’ Hits Malaysia as Oversupply Sends Prices Tumbling
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A so-called “durian tsunami” has crashed the market for the notoriously smelly tropical fruit, with some vendors in Singapore now handing them out completely free of charge, the BBC reported.
The oversupply stems from a “decade-long boom” in which Malaysian farmers rushed to plant durian trees to cash in on surging Chinese demand. Now those trees are starting to bear fruit all at once, creating a glut that has slashed prices.
Beloved across much of Asia, the spiky fruit is notorious for its distinctive odor — often compared to “sewage, turpentine and rotten onions,” according to The Times. The novelist Anthony Burgess famously described eating a durian as “like eating strawberry blancmange in an unspeakably foul public lavatory.”
Because of its pungent smell, durians are “commonly banned” on public transport and in hotels across Southeast Asia. Yet the global trade has boomed: last year it was worth £5.5 billion, with 90% of exports going to China, where a newly affluent middle class is “discovering a taste for the exotic.”
Premium varieties like Musang King — dubbed the “Hermès of durians” — have become especially popular as Chinese consumers grow more selective. A single durian can fetch “up to 200 yuan (£21.50), and they are often given as luxurious gifts on special occasions.”
To feed this “insatiable appetite,” freight trains have been retrofitted with “specially refrigerated cars” that allow durians to travel from Thailand and Vietnam to China “with their flavor unimpaired.”
But now a “bumper harvest” has sent prices into a tailspin, The Star reported. “It feels like a rare chance to enjoy a Musang King without paying a bomb,” said engineer Kelvin Tan, who drove 46 miles from Kuala Lumpur to Raub, Malaysia, to take advantage of the low prices.
Customers are “swarming fruit stalls” to snap up bargains, said the BBC. “A lot of the durian trees planted in the last decade to meet soaring demand from China are now starting to bear fruit,” Lu Yuee Thing, who owns several durian farms near Raub, told the outlet.
Some farmers, however, had been “grappling with poor harvests” due to uneven rainfall across the country just as the glut arrived. While “durian lovers feast,” many growers in Malaysia are “chagrined.”
Malaysia’s Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority has stepped in to support the industry and help “manage surplus durian supply as the season begins to ramp up,” according to Asiafruit. The agency has prepared 142 cold rooms to preserve excess stock and is purchasing durians from farmers at a base price to protect their incomes.
For fans of the pungent fruit, prices will “remain low until August” before “gradually recovering,” The Star reported.
Until then, shops are taking “creative measures” to offload their extra inventory, said the BBC. Viral videos have emerged showing customers leaving a stall in Malaysia’s Pahang state with all-you-can-fit sacks filled “beyond the brim” with the spiky green fruit.