KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s exotic durian merah or red durian has the potential to become a new food highlight and developed into an agro-tourism product.
Kuamut assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah said the state Agriculture Department should conduct more in-depth studies on the fruit, focusing on its health benefits and nutritional value, while also adopting new technologies to develop high-quality seedlings that would make it commercially viable.
Masiung proposed that the Sabah Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Ministry carry out research to produce seedlings that grow into shorter, shadier trees, instead of the traditionally tall varieties.
“Unlike regular durians, the durian merah variety does not fall even when ripe, and the tall trees must be climbed to harvest them,” he said.
He said the durian merah flesh was not only regarded as a traditional staple among the ethnic Sungai people in Tongod, Kinabatangan, Telupid and Beluran, but also a sought-after food for exotic fruit lovers in Sabah and Sarawak.
“The flesh is usually sauteed with flavouring to make ‘sambal’. It is a popular dish in the northern part of Sabah and has the potential to penetrate the food market in the region,” he said.
He described the fruit’s bright red flesh as less sweet, drier in texture and less pungent smell compared with regular durians.
Masiung, who is chairman of state-owned Sedco Group, is confident that minister Datuk Jamawi Jaafar, who has extensive experience in durian-based agriculture, would be able to commercialise the red durian variety.
Masiung said if production increased, market opportunities would expand.
