Shift in Chinese durian taste leaves Malaysian farmers in turmoil

Soaring Chinese demand brought Liew Jia Soon home in 2018 and helped his father’s farm expand, but the spectacular earnings have evaporated. “We farmers have seen a 60 percent drop in profits during this season,” he said while looking over hundreds of unsold durians at a collection point near his farm in Raub.

The problem is not falling interest in the fruit but a change in standards: buyers increasingly want fresh durians rather than the frozen shipments Malaysia has been selling. “We need to get the supply chain to cater for this change in exporting fresh durians,” said Eric Chan, president of the Durian Manufacturer Association.

He added that there are a limited number of flights from Malaysia to China that can support fresh shipments. “I am worried.” The shift has produced a glut some call a “durian tsunami.” Prices sank in December to a decade low of 10 ringgit per kilogram, about $1 a pound and a tenth of what sellers could previously ask.

Malaysia, Raub

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