The Malaysian durian season has come to an end after two months of vigorous sales. Although the outbreak of Covid-19 did not have a significant impact on the Malaysian durian industry, this still is the briefest durian season in Malaysia. Manager He, a spokesperson for the Malaysian durian company Newleaf Plantation Berhad, recently talked about current conditions in the Malaysian durian market.
"The peak period of the durian sales season normally begins in June and continues until the end of August, but this year the production volume from Malaysian durian plantations began to shrink in the middle of July. There are only a few durian left to harvest in the beginning of August. It is difficult to say why the season was this brief. Some people blame it on the hot weather, while others blame it on excessive rainfall. The limited supply volume did raise the price of Malaysian durian by about 10%."
Looking back on the retail conditions this year, manager He said, "although the outbreak of Covid-19 affected distribution and reduced the consumption power of our clients, the overall sales volume seemed to be unaffected. We exported around 30-40 shipping containers this year, which is more or less the same as last year. I think that there are two reasons for this development. First, durian are high-end market products and their price is relatively high, but high-end market consumers generally experience fewer economic disruptions. They continue to shop as before. Second, many consumers remained at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, and their consumption volume of fruit actually increased. Look at our sales in Malaysia, for example, the online order volume rapidly expanded."
Apart from the domestic market in Malaysia, Newleaf mainly sells durian to the Chinese market and Hong Kong. This is the first year that Newleaf offers 'delivery included'-service in Hong Kong. "Consumers order our durian online. We then harvest a number of fresh durian based on the orders we have received. Next we deliver the durian to the factory for processing and packaging. The durian is then delivered to the customer within 24 hours. In Hong Kong, the price of our 10-kg fresh durian is 990 Malaysian Ringgit [235.97 USD]," explained manager He.
"As for the Chinese market, we mainly sell frozen durian pieces there. However, as of last year we have opened online shops on the e-commerce platforms of JD and TMall, and we mainly promote our whole Musang King durian. There are more than 200 durian varieties in Malaysia, but the Musang King durian is the most well-known and the most popular among Chinese consumers. The Musang King durian is a top-tier durian variety and commonly known as the king of durian. The fragrance is rich and the flavor is creamy. Its fruit flesh is a beautiful yellow and has a butter-like texture. The taste is rich, delicate, and tender. Only about 1% of all Chinese consumers has ever tried durian. We are working hard with our partners in China to bring the unique flavor of our Malaysian durian to even more Chinese consumers."
Newleaf Plantation Berhad is a Malaysian durian supplier. The company owns a plantation in Pahang that covers more than 404 hectares. The company exports Musang King durian, red durian D101, D13 Golden Bun, Sultan King D24, and many other durian varieties. The company also introduced the market to their new "Musang King Snow Skin Mooncake". This cake is prepared with fresh durian and the taste is unique. The cake is very popular with a wide variety of consumers.
For more information:
Newleaf Plantation Berhad
Tel.: +603-62016336
E-mail: [email protected]
Webshop: https://newleaf.com.my