“We export durian to Hong Kong and, indirectly, to China,” said Albert Tan of Agnessia Fruits Trading in Malaysia. “We've also gotten lots of requests from Europe and India, and we've also had some interest from people in New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver in Canada.” He attributes this growing interest to the unique characteristics of Malaysian durian. On his 50-acre farm, Tan grows and exports many varieties of durian, but the most popular, Musang King, stands out because of its texture.
“The texture is so smooth that when people put it in their mouth they say it's like eating ice cream,” said Tan. “Once people taste Malaysian durian, they never forget it.” That's despite the distinctive aroma which elicits strong reactions, both positive and negative, from people.
“When we were at Asia Fruit Logistica this year, we had a lot of foreigners, especially from Europe and the United States, come to our booth because they smelled the fruit,” said Tan. “But when they tasted it, they all found it fantastic.” For now, Tan is still figuring out how to ship to Europe. Aside from the regulatory issues involved with that, he'll have to find a way to get the fruit to target markets within the one-week window during which the fruit is at its best.
“You really have to eat durian within one week,” said Tan. “The most challenging part of this is the logistics. It's not hard to get transportation, the issue is whether it's available, and with such a short shelf life, we don't want to take a big risk.”
When it comes to the most recent results, he explains that the last season lasted from early June 2015 to August 2015 and that the current campaign started only a week ago. “We are expecting it to last until late January 2016; however the yield this season is lower compared to that of the previous one as a result of problems with the pollination. In any case, this has not affected the quality of the matured fruits, although the overall volume quantity has dropped almost 30 %. For the new season, barring any adverse weather conditions, we expect a good yield. As of now, weather patterns have been quite unpredictable because of global warming.”
In any case, he assures that the quality of Musang King durians has always been consistent, especially the ones from the district of Raub, Pahang state of Peninsular Malaysia. “It is widely believed that the soil characteristics in Raub differ from those in other places, as it contains a lot of rich natural minerals, which ultimately results in the production of very good quality Musang King durians,” he states.
This quality, coupled with its distinctive taste, has always made Musang King durians a threat to other durian growers from Thailand or Vietnam and demand for them is tremendous, especially in China. “Consumers who have tried Musang King durians will be able to differentiate the vast difference in terms of quality and taste; hence, Musang King durians are widely accepted as The King of Kings of durians,” he concludes.
For more information:
Albert Tan
Agnessia Fruits Trading
Tel: 0060 14 2929191
Email: [email protected]
