DURIAN PRICE DROP IN MALAYSIA 2026

MOST PREMIUM DURIAN in Malaysia including Musang King durians have seen a dramatic price drop to as low as RM10 per kg as a nationwide oversupply strips the variety of its premium status. The glut has forced several growers to bypass middlemen and sell directly to consumers at orchard fronts to sustain their businesses. In Segamat, Johor, Che Tat Durian Segamat owner Muhamad Noriman Haikal Mohd Nazri, 25, said prices inevitably plummeted when supply exceeded demand. He said orchards planted with Musang King in previous years were now producing fruit simultaneously.  Musang King Grade A, which previously fetched between RM60 and RM75 per kg, has fallen to between RM45 and RM50 and for lower grades, some are being sold as cheaply as RM10 per kg depending on quality and size. However the stressed that the price drop did not reflect a decrease in production costs. A single Musang King tree costs about RM600 a year, covering fertiliser, pesticides, water, labour, and maintenance. He said that Musang King may lose its exclusive local status as consumers shift to varieties such as Duri Hitam, Duri Jering Sembilan, or Tupai King. In Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, 38-year-old orchard owner Mun Jing Chew has turned to roadside sales instead of selling only to wholesalers. 
He is running a promotion at RM10 per kg for small-sized Musang King. He said that while daily sales reach about RM15,000, this was only enough to cover annual management costs estimated at between RM200,000 and RM300,000. In Jerantut and Bentong, Grade C Musang King was found selling for as low as RM11 per kg, while Grade B was priced at RM18. Damak orchard owner Lim Kim Chooi, 62, said the oversupply, combined with tiger stripe disease, had triggered the price collapse. Lim, who owns 0.8 hectares of Musang King, said fertilisation, insect control and disease management remained expensive and with farm workers' wages and other costs, the price cannot fall below RM20 per kg, or we will suffer losses. This article in "Anim Agriculture Technology" blog I share the issue about thrs drop of durian price in Malaysia since end 2025 until early 2026.

Local media reported that 'Durian glut proves thorny for sellers' where along a two-lane road leading to Ipoh which is famous for its fruit stalls, 62-year-old Ismail Ibrahim and other long-time durian sellers are struggling with an oversupply of the "King of Fruits" that has sent prices crashing. For Ismail, many rural families in Malaysia depend on seasonal sales of the spiky fruit as their key source of income as many are unemployed, retired or rely on irregular odd jobs. But the recent abundant harvest has turned out to be a bane on prices, signalling a bleak start to 2026. He have been selling from 11am. Compared with two to three years ago, the prices now are the worst. There is an oversupply of the fruit, so the natural impact is that prices spiral downwards in which durian prices were higher, about RM20 to RM25 a kg last year. Then it came down to RM8, and now to as low as RM5. It truly hurts me to see prices plunge. But this is business. Ismail was speaking from his stall here, where roadsides are lined with fruit trees , rambutan, mangosteen, coconut and durian. Traditional Malay wooden houses topped with bright red zinc roofs complete the rustic scenery. Ismail's stall is a flimsy wooden shed with some long tables and a few chairs that allow customers to relish the thorny, pungent king of the fruits. Reported that Malaysians love it and will travel many kilometres to get good quality fruit, including the local durians popularly called 'durian kampung'. The fruit is usually smaller with thick sweet flesh. But the real attraction of durian kampung is that farmers do not use pesticides or chemicals to enhance its size or quality and profits are being squeezed due to the glut, so it is a buyers' market. Two customers filled up almost three containers with 25kg of durians for only RM108. If he can get back our capital for today, it is good enough. Tomorrow is another day and his profit, if he are lucky, is about RM400. But I have to share it with my partner. A small profit is still good enough. Just then a man and his son from Shah Alam walked into the stall. He was getting dark and Ismail was determined to sell all his durians, as they are perishable items and they need to be sold on the same day because if the fruits crack open, they become spoilt. The father-and-son pair managed to reduce the price from RM8 to RM5 a kg, more than 37 per cent cheaper. Just across the road under a large umbrella, 70-year-old Musa Ismail, a former railway company worker, sat on a chair hoping for the last six fruits to be sold before nightfall to avoid losses. For the past five years, he has been selling durians to supplement his monthly pension. The average price last year was RM12 a kg. For about RM200 now they can get 30 to 50 fruits. Every morning, he go deep into neighboring villages on my bike to look for good fruits.
 

Another report from local media stated that 'Sabah durian prices stable despite drop in peninsula' where in Sabah’s premium durian prices have remained stable despite reports of a price drop in Peninsular Malaysia, said State Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Jamawi. Sabah's premium durian prices have remained stable despite reports of a price drop in Peninsular Malaysia while there had been widespread reporting on falling prices of premium durians such as Musang King and Black Thorn in the peninsula due to oversupply, the situation in Sabah was different. There have been reports in the media that premium durian prices have declined in the peninsula. In Sabah, prices are still holding steady at around RM45 per kilogram at the farm gate for Grade A, while Grade B and C are fetching about RM35 per kilogram/ He said the price drop in the peninsula was mainly due to an oversupply of low-grade durians. The Sabah's premium durian industry continued to benefit from export demand, particularly for high-grade fruit where he would like to encourage farmers, especially those interested in cultivating premium durians such as Musang King, to remain confident. The export market for Grade A and B durians remains strong. The grade C durians and those below are still within a price range that allows farmers to make a profit and the ministry aimed to alleviate poverty in Sabah by encouraging the cultivation of premium durian varieties. A mature durian tree could produce approximately 50 fruits, averaging two kilograms each. At current market rates, this can generate an income of over RM4,000 per tree. The export potential, particularly to China, demanded yield from at least 4,046 hectares of plantation and the current statistics showed that Sabah had only 2,023 hectares of plantation, with only 324 hectares currently matured and producing fruit. Thanks.

By,

M Anem,

Melaka,

Malaysia.

(January 2026).