High temperatures and heavy rainfall are a combination we can usually do without. This year, however, it’s coming with a rather lovely side effect — cheap durian.
People across the island have been dashing to durian stalls this month as weather conditions have conspired to produce a longer-than-normal durian season, resulting in a bumper crop from Malaysia.
While the thorny delicacy is a polarizing fruit, with a pungent scent some compare to the smell of gym socks, it’s also wildly popular across Southeast Asia and in China, with prices for sought-after varieties skyrocketing in recent years.
So the steaming temps and soggy sneaks? Great news for durian lovers.
According to an estimate by The New Paper on Monday, a kilogram of Mao Shan Wang durian — usually one of the highest-priced varieties of the fruit — is now selling for $18, down from the usual price of $28. This trend was also observed by the Lianhe Zaobao which noted a sharp plummet in durian prices in the past two weeks.
But pictures and videos circulating on social media in recent days have actually shown durians selling for as little as $10.
While this is indeed good news for fans of the fruit, it can’t beat the time that a couple of sellers in Singapore straight up gave their thorny wares away for free last year, also due to a substantial drop in durian prices caused by an oversupply from Malaysia. During that time, one fruit stall alone reportedly gave away roughly 1,300kg worth of durians to over 500 people in just a single afternoon.
Free or not, if you’re a durian lover, we think now is a good time to binge on more than Netflix.
Reader Interactions