CONFINED at home for nearly three months under the movement-control order (MCO), many durian lovers have almost given up eating the fresh fruit and now making do with home deliveries of frozen pulp, normally reserved for export to the China market.

Durian suppliers were surprised over the volume of local orders for frozen pulp during the MCO, with plentiful supply from the fruit’s season in May and the ease of ordering online.

Top Fruits Sdn Bhd managing director Tan Sue Sian told The Malaysian Insight he was surprised to see Malaysians warming up to frozen durian pulp when they usually prefer to crack open the fruit themselves.

“I suppose consumers have no choice but to try frozen durian pulp and surprisingly, found that they were quite pleased with it.

“We did receive some complaints but these are usually related to improper thawing of the frozen pulp.”

The challenge in a home-delivery system for fresh musang king durian involved logistical issues stemming from interstate travel restrictions under the MCO, he said.

Currently, supply of frozen pulp involves harvesting ripe durians in the morning and sending them to factories in Kuala Lumpur for processing.

The fruits are prepared for delivery to customers’ homes by the afternoon.

During the MCO, Tan said his company was overwhelmed with orders until they imposed a cap of 100 orders per day to ensure product quality.

“Currently, we are selling according to market price, which is about RM60 to RM65 per kg. This is because the durian season has just started and prices are slightly higher.

“We can also deliver durian by motorcycle to customers within the Klang Valley and each box of durian has about 300g of pulp.”

Customers usually choose one of two types of orders: the whole fruit, shell included, or just the pulp.

Dulai Fruits Enterprise managing director Eric Chan is attempting to recreate the “durian buffet” experience in customers’ homes.

Where before the MCO, people could flock to durian shops and enjoy a buffet of several varieties of the fruit for a fixed price, customers can now order whole, fresh durians straight from the orchard to their homes.

“We are trying to bring that ‘durian buffet’ experience to customers at their homes, such as delivering 20kg of various types of durian to a customer’s home for RM80.”

He said 20kg is enough for 10 people.

However, Chan said, whole durian can only be delivered to Johor, Seremban and the Klang Valley to maintain freshness.

Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama) export division director Ser Tian Sin said frozen durian pulp is not necessarily substandard to fresh durian and more consumers are showing a willingness to change their preference.

“As a matter of fact, the quality of frozen durian can be better because suppliers can vouch for their freshness,” Ser said.

Chan of Dulai Fruits agreed, saying that because the shell is removed, it is easier to ensure that the pulp inside is of good quality.

“Being able to ensure the quality is good for customers and also shows that the business is responsible.”

As peak durian season begins in June, the market price of the king of fruits is expected to be RM55 to RM60 per kg, until early July.

Suppliers said the season began in Johor three weeks ago and starts this week in Pahang and next week in Penang. – June 4, 2020.