CHEAPER DURIAN DUE TO GLUT

Kota Kinabalu, October 13, 2009: Durians and rambutans are going cheap, thanks to an oversupply in the market from local orchards.

Owing to the glut, prices of other local fruits have also come down, albeit by a smaller margin.

In a survey at the central market here, Susanna Ng who sells durians at RM6 a kilo now said she had to lower prices because there are just too many durians for sale.

"I used to sell durians between RM10 and RM15 a kilo when the supply was limited, but now I have lowered the prices so that the fruits can be sold off," she said.

There are just too many durians in the market, especially in Ranau where they are even sold at RM1 per kilo, she added.

However, James Wong, another vendor selling durians and watermelon said despite the glut of fruits in the city, there is no shortage of people wanting to buy them.

"I sell my durians at RM5 per kilo and watermelons at RM1.50 a kilo," he said.

Another, Mai Lin, who sells watermelon, rambutan, bananas and guava all at RM2 a kilo, stated that vendors there have their own clientele.

"We all have our customers so no doubt we will always have our customers as they already trust us and know that our fruits are of the quality the expect," she said.

Durian, she added, is sold at RM6 per kilo and that her regular customers will buy them because they know her fruits are of good quality.

Sharil Suhut, 22, sells his durians at RM6 per kilo, rambutans at RM2 a kilo and mangosteens at RM4 each kilo and takes about four to five days to sell off his stock.

"If there are leftovers, we have to take another approach, that is sell whatever that's left in bulk at a very low price."