SINCE Malaysia began exporting frozen whole durians to China in 2019, demand has soared for the thorny delicacy to the extent that there isn’t enough liquid nitrogen to keep up with the higher output from farms, durian exporters say.

The problem is compounded with higher demand for liquid nitrogen from Petronas, and producers would rather service larger contracts from the national oil and gas company than cater to durian exporters whose orders are seasonal and smaller in volume.

Duricious Sdn Bhd founder Simon Chin said this is the first time in his 14 years in the durian business that he has experienced such a shortage.

Chin said more entrepreneurs have been getting on the durian export bandwagon because of high consumer demand. As such, production, especially of the Musang King variety, has increased as more land is opened for farms.

“Many durian processing plants have increased their demand for liquid nitrogen. However, there are only three companies producing liquid nitrogen in Malaysia, and it is in short supply.”

“If the problem cannot be resolved this year, it may become a crisis for durian exports,” Chin told The Malaysian Insight.

Liquid nitrogen is used to flash freeze durians within one hour to a temperature of -18 degrees Celsius, to retain the fruits texture and taste. Under an agreement with China, Malaysia can only export whole durians if they are frozen. 

Chin said the price of liquid nitrogen is now 200% higher than before, and durian processing factories are not receiving the amounts they ordered, if at all.

“For example, if 20,000 litres are required, only 5,000 litres is delivered.”

Chin said he understands that liquid nitrogen producers will cater to orders from Petronas and other customers who require much larger volumes of the coolant than durian processing plants.

According to him, liquid nitrogen producers cannot increase their production without approval from the authorities.

But he fears the situation will raise production costs for durian processors and exporters, and cause revenue loss.

“Durians have a very short shelf life, they will deteriorate within a week. The price of liquid nitrogen is getting more and more expensive, and even then it is still out of stock.”

“We look around for factories that still have liquid nitrogen and buy from them at high prices. Some even source from Singapore, but this is unsustainable as the price is too high,” Chin said.

To prevent durian wastage, the fruits that cannot be frozen are turned into paste or puree.

Chin said his company’s export volume is 80 containers of frozen durian last year. For this year so far, it has already hit 100 containers.

Another variety that is quickly becoming popular with Chinese consumers is the Black Thorn, he added.

James Wong, of Pochi Durian Trading Sdn Bhd based in Yong Peng, Johor, said his export volume has also increased in the first half of this year, compared to all of last year.

He, too, is running out of liquid nitrogen and is struggling to find a supplier.

“Without it, we simply cannot handle frozen durian processing. This will definitely affect future exports,” said Wong who grows the Musang King, D101, D13 and Black Thorn varieties.”

Malaysia exported RM144.7 million worth of durians in 2020, a 107% increase from RM69.9 million in 2016. Thailand, however, is still the world’s largest exporter.

Barring the current liquid nitrogen shortage, Malaysian exports are set to rise further, based on production output.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry’s marketing and export division secretary, Khalid Ibrahim recently said local production is expected to increase to 443,000 metric tons by 2030. 

He said in 2019, 72,536 hectares had been used for durian cultivation and output was 384,170 metric tons.

Pahang, Johor and Sarawak are the country’s main durian-growing states, while new land has been opened in Kelantan’s highland forests for durian orchards. – July 4, 2022.