Johor expects durian prices to drop as new farms emerge

ISKANDAR PUTERI - The Johor state government anticipates a decline in durian prices, including Musang King, within the next three years following farmers' establishment of large-scale durian farms.

State Agriculture, Agro-Based Industry, and Rural Development Committee Chairman Datuk Zahari Sarip said that numerous areas previously cultivated for oil palm have been cleared for durian planting.

"Thousands of hectares of durian farms have been established, mainly in Muar and Tangkak," Zahari said, adding that Musang King is the most extensively cultivated variety, along with IOI and D34.

Based on the Agriculture Department's observations, Zahari said it is likely that durian prices will decrease within the next three years due to the large-scale durian plantations in recent years.

Currently, Musang King durians are priced between RM90 and RM120 per fruit.

Zahari made these comments at a press conference after the Johor State Legislative Assembly session in Kota Iskandar today.

To address any durian surplus issues in the local market, the state government, in collaboration with the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama), will construct an agricultural produce collection center in Tangkak.

"If proactive measures are not taken, I'm concerned that durian prices will decline unless durians can be directly exported abroad, such as to China.

"However, during the previous pandemic, durians couldn't be exported to China," Zahari said.

Zahari stressed that the state government wants to avoid an oversupply of durians and that the construction of the agricultural produce collection center is crucial so that durian pulp can be frozen and marketed throughout the year.

In 2021, Johor produced a total of 121,898 metric tonnes of durian, involving 31,255 entrepreneurs across an area of 19,171 hectares, with Tangkak being the district with the highest durian production.