Weather woes can't stop the ‘king'

The Star

6 days ago

GEORGE TOWN: 'They smell like hell, but taste like heaven', exclaims Martin Yan as he poses with a variety of Penang durians.
The award-winning celebrity chef, who is in Penang as part of his Asia Culinary Tour 2025, could not resist the temptation of the king of fruits on his latest visit.
'Penang is a food heaven. Here in front of me are a variety of the king of fruits. The best durians in Penang,' he said.
Besides tasting some of the best food in town, Yan, who was invi­ted here to promote Visit Malaysia 2026, also explored the epic rainforest at The Habitat in Penang Hill.
Despite erratic weather conditions which affected durian harvests, this year's export to China is expected to surpass last year's target by 10%, said state agrotechnology, food Security and cooperative development committee chairman Fahmi Zainol.
'The setback is minimal and not likely to affect the supply this year.
'The demand from the overseas market, especially China, remains strong, particularly for premium varieties such as Musang King and Black Thorn,' he said.
With the durian season starting about a week ago, it is expected to stretch until September, giving farmers more time to fulfill both the local and international demands.
Fahmi said that despite a marked increase in cultivated land, from 1,817ha to 2,199ha, the overall durian output in 2024 actually declined by 10.8%, dropping from 20,082 metric tonnes in 2023 to 17,911 metric tonnes last year.
'This drop in yield is largely due to the unpredictable weather patterns including prolonged droughts and irregular rainfalls. This disrupted the fruit development and led to a premature fruit drop.
'Other factors included pest and disease outbreaks, as well as inconsistent farm management practices,' he said.
Despite the production setback, Penang successfully exported more than 67,000kg of fresh durians in 2024.
This, he said, reflected the state's ability to meet both domestic demand and overseas orders.
Fahmi added that he remained cautiously optimistic about the outlook of exports, particularly for frozen durians to China.
'Penang recently secured approval to export directly to China, eliminating the previous dependence on transit through states such as Johor or Pahang.
'This breakthrough is expected to streamline logistics and boost export efficiency moving forward,' he said.
Fahmi said last year, the state managed to ship out 12,346kg of durians, including 10,441kg of fresh durians and 1,905kg of pulp to Thailand and Singapore.
'The Chinese market holds immense potential due to rising demand and a preference for premium durians.
'With ongoing efforts by the state government and the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority to improve the processing and packaging facilities, frozen durian export to China is expected to grow significantly over the next two to three years,' he said.
Meanwhile, a check at several durian stalls in George Town revealed that prices vary widely, depending on the quality and grade of the fruit.
Teoh Cheng Hin, 37, said while the prices of the local durians have dropped slightly, branded durians still command a high price especially Musang King and Black Thorn.
'The Musang King is now priced between RM68 and RM90 per kilogramme.
'Other premium durians such as Black Thorn and Hor Lor are being sold at around RM118 per kilogramme.
'The Tupai King, which is new in the market, cost about RM130 per kilogramme due to its rarity.
'There are other affordable brands too such as Ang Hair, Capri, Lipan and Butter,' he said.