Every June and December sees the beginning of a new durian production season in Malaysia. Durian sellers usually sell out the durians of the previous season before the new season.
"In December last year, due to the impact of the domestic pandemic situation in China at that time, Malaysian durian producers did not dare to ship to the Chinese market, and they did not resume until the pandemic situation eased. The market has concentrated the arrival of goods in a short period of time, and merchants are eager to clear their inventory before the new season, causing market fluctuations. "
Dulai Fruits Enterprise Sdn Bhd is mainly engaged in durian plantation and export in Malaysia. It is a subsidiary of the local listed group PLS and cooperates with COFCO Imported Foods Co., Ltd. in the Chinese market. Mr. Kenny Loh, the sales director of the company, introduced the market situation of Malaysian durian to FreshPlaza.
Mr. Kenny Loh
"During the Spring Festival, the market price of imported durians in Malaysia fell and is unlikely to rise after the festival. In December last year, the price of durians was about ￥120/kg, and by March this year, it had dropped to ￥90-￥100/kg. In addition, April is the new production season for durians in Thailand, which will have a certain impact on the sales of Malaysian durians." Kenny added that the quality of durians this season is ideal.
Talking about the market, Kenny said that the sales are slow at present, but the market is generally stable. "The production of Malaysian durians is not large, accounting for only 5% of the Chinese durian market. I believe that the market has the ability to consume Malaysian durians. The more obvious impact is the outflow. For example, the monthly sales volume in the past was 4 containers, but now it is only 1 container. Perhaps in the next 1-2 years, the focus of our durian merchants may not be on "quantity", but on "quality". First, stabilize the business and the market. "
In terms of production season changes, according to Kenny, the original durian production in summer was several times larger than that in winter, but in early 2021, heavy rains fell in Malaysia, and many durian orchards were flooded. Because it takes time to re-flower and bear fruit, the summer production in 2022 decreased, but the winter production increased instead. It is still unknown whether the summer and winter production seasons will be reversed. However, this summer's durian production is expected to decrease, and winter production is expected to increase."
In addition, according to Kenny, many companies in Malaysia are converting rubber, palm tree and other plantations to durian. Because the overall management system is different, and it takes 6-7 years for Musang King to bear fruit, durian production has not changed significantly in the past two or three years. "But in the next five years, I believe the output will increase by 3-5 times."
Dulai Fruits Enterprise Sdn Bhd has a durian base of over 1000 hectares in Malaysia. It mainly deals in frozen durians in liquid nitrogen and durian puree. Its own brand is "Durian Hill", and its products are exported to China, the United States, Singapore, Japan, Australia and other places.