Malaysia Durian Boom: How Changing Chinese Tastes Fueled a Market Surge

KUALA LUMPUR, KOMPAS.com – The surge in demand for durian from China has brought great hope to Malaysian farmers. However, eight years after that glorious era, the situation has now reversed.

Farmers face overproduction, declining export demand and prices falling to their lowest point in a decade.

One of them was experienced by Liew Jia Soon. He decided to return to his hometown in 2018 to manage the garden durian his father’s property in the hills north of Kuala Lumpur. At that time, the market China offers huge profits to farmers.

Also read: Once Rich in Gold, a City in Malaysia Now Earns IDR 118.3 T from China because of Durian

But now, even though his land area has doubled, his income has actually dropped sharply.

“We farmers experienced a 60 percent decline in profits during this season,” said Liew, quoted from New York TimesTuesday (10/2/2026).

Last month, hundreds of his durian fruit went unsold and piled up at the collection center in the Raub area.

Demand is shifting to fresh durian

It’s not that Chinese consumers have lost their taste for durian. Interest in the “King of Fruit” remains high, even though China’s economy weakened at the end of 2025.

The main problem actually arises from shifts in consumer preferences. Previously the market relied on frozen durian (frozen), now buyers prefer fresh durian in whole form.

These changes make the supply chain Malaysia confused.

“We need to ensure the supply chain can accommodate this change in fresh durian exports,” said Eric Chan, President of the Producers Association Malaysian durian.

However, limited direct flights from Malaysia to China make it difficult to send fresh durian. As a result, there is a buildup of domestic production which is not absorbed by the export market.

Also read: After the fight with Singapore, Malaysia urges durian to become the national fruit

This condition triggered a surge in supply that farmers dubbed the “durian tsunami”. In December 2025, durian prices will fall to their lowest level, only 10 ringgit (around Rp. 43,000) per kilogram. That figure is only one tenth of the normal price.

The crisis is exacerbated by the nature of the durian plant which takes 5-10 years to bear fruit.

The massive investments made by farmers in the 2016–2019 period have now backfired, with a flood of production occurring as export demand declines.

Malaysian government data shows that the area of durian plantations has increased from 163,000 hectares in 2016 to more than 227,000 hectares in 2024. National production has also jumped to 568,000 tons.