MALAYSIA’S reputation for premium-quality durians could be its biggest advantage in an increasingly competitive global market.
Despite extensive investment, China’s efforts to cultivate durians domestically are unlikely to pose a significant threat to Malaysia’s industry for now, as climate conditions make it difficult to scale up production, says Malaysia Durian Exporters Association president Sam Tan.
“Currently, the focus on durian cultivation is mostly in Hainan, where temperatures are not consistently warm throughout the year ,and nighttime temperatures can drop to 16C.
“To flower and be ripe enough to harvest, durians need months of continuous heat so that can get quite challenging for them,” he says.
“During the hot seasons, farmers in Hainan will have to deal with the monsoon so it is not realistic for them to scale up. Hainan has durians but most of them are not yet ready for harvesting, they are mostly the Thai Monthong variety,” he adds.
Durian farmer Tai Chong Poh shares Tan’s doubts about China’s ability to rival Malaysia, noting that many people underestimate the complexity of growing durian.
“The difference between durian and other crops like oil palm, rubber, and coconut is that durians are not suitable for large-scale farming. Durian is very much like cocoa.
“It needs a lot of TLC and there are many things you need to do to cultivate durian. It involves regular pruning, having good drainage, a watering system, and relatively high temperature,” says Tai, who runs a 3.6ha farm with 600 trees.
Referring to areas in Pahang, Tai says: “If you plant durians in Janda Baik, despite it being very close to Bentong and having very fertile soil, it is still not suitable. Durians planted in Janda Baik or Bukit Tinggi will take a long time to mature and flower because of the cooler weather.
“Now imagine what it is like in Hainan. Hainan is facing temperature issues and also gets hurricanes and landslides every now and then. I doubt Hainan can take over from us,” he adds.
Neighbouring competitors
Beyond China’s domestic production, Tai is concerned about competition from Thailand and Vietnam, which are working to improve their output and quality. While Malaysia may struggle to match Thailand’s production volume, he believes the premium reputation of Malaysian durians gives it an advantage.
“We have the taste of the durian established and we have the premium tag. Our durians are mostly shipped to Guangdong and not the whole of China yet. The market is large,” he says.
“Our durians taste better than the rest. Because we don’t have enough durians to meet the demand, traders buy Thai durians instead. We have to find a way to sell through boutique channels,” adds Tai.
Meanwhile, Tan identifies the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos as competitors vying for a share of the market.
“We must focus on our competitors outside of Malaysia. In terms of logistics, it will be difficult to compete with Vietnam who can just send their durian across the border to China. But for us, we will need to send via air or frozen shipment,” he says.
Malaysia’s reliance on naturally fallen durians, said to taste better, is another point of difference, as some competing producers harvest their fruit directly from the tree.
“We cannot compete in terms of price with Vietnam and Thailand, but we have better quality durians. The difference is that our varieties have a powerful aroma and taste,” he says.
However, Tan cautions that competitors will continue to improve, making it important for Malaysia to keep pace and explore new export destinations.
“Now we are exporting to Europe and Australia, but we need to open markets to other countries.
“If the focus is only on exporting to China, the future is not very clear as other countries are also eyeing China as a destination market and coming in with lower prices,” he explains.
As regional producers improve their offerings, Malaysia will need to maintain its quality standards, strengthen distribution, and build demand in markets beyond China. Diversifying its export destinations could help the industry reach more consumers while protecting the premium reputation of Malaysian durians.
“Malaysia’s strength is that our durians are very premium. We should keep to our premium standards and find some more new markets to explore,” says Tan.
