Bumper harvest sees dirt cheap kampung durians
trishang@thestar.com.my
GEORGE TOWN: Durians are aplenty this season and some are being sold at dirt cheap prices.
Mohd Ridzuan Alias, 33, from Pengkalan Hulu on the mainland, said his kampung saw a bumper harvest this year, so much so that the villagers could not eat them all.
“We are tired of consuming our village-grown durians. So, we are letting them go at a cheaper price.
“I know some durians are expensive but ours, called the durian
Kampung A, are sold in buckets filled with five or six fruits at only RM30.
“If you come later in the evening, you may get them at RM50 for two buckets and right before I close my stall every day, I sell three buckets at RM50.
“I know it upsets other wholesalers that I’m selling them this cheap, but why not? I still make a profit and we have durians in abundance.
“I am licensed and have been selling durians here for the past five years,” he said at his stall in Jalan Permatang Pauh near Bandar Perda in Bukit Mertajam.
Ridzuan said despite bringing a whopping 2,000kg to 3,000kg of durians to his stall daily, he was still able to sell all his stock by the end of the day.
“My stall is open from 2pm to 10pm and sometimes I close earlier when my fruits are sold out,” he added.
Ridzuan, who usually sells fruits at a local night market, said his durian stall would be open for about three months each year.
Eric Yeap, who has a durian orchard in Balik Pulau, said durians, especially kampung durians, were being sold cheap as there seemed to be an oversupply this time around.
“Earlier, only Penang had durians but now the season is in full swing, with all the other states having the fruit, too.
“There is a demand for kampung durian, which is going for as low as RM6 per kg. Usually, I sell them at RM8 to RM10 per kg,” he said.
Yeap, however, said he was not sure how long the low prices would last because prices might go up again when the supply dropped.