Besut: Owners of durian farms in Hulu Besut claimed to have suffered tremendous losses after the price of durian dropped as there was no demand for the fruit since the beginning of Ramadan.They said the price of the fruit had not only dropped in Hulu Besut, but also in most districts in Terengganu and Kelantan.
The current wholesale price of durian sold in farm is 30sen per kilogramme and those sold by the roadside is 40sen per kilogramme, while the retail price is between 80sen and RM1.20 per kilogramme.
Last month, the wholesale price stood at between RM1.50 and RM1.80 per kilogramme, while the retail price was between RM2 and RM3 per kilogramme.
A farmer, who wanted to be known only as Mamat, 51, from Keruak here, said he found that the price offered for a kilogramme of durian was not worth the efforts to collect the fruit from the farm.
"After all, it's the fasting month. People are not so keen of eating durian. So, what's the point of me collecting the fruits from the farm?" he told Bernama here today.
Wan Merian Ishak, 58, from Lubuk Kawah, on the other hand said, he used to make a handsome profit from the sales of the fruit, but it was not the case this year.
He said in order to avert bigger losses, he had to turn the fruit into 'lempok' (durian cake) or 'tempoyak' (fermented durian paste) which could be sold at the local market. -- Bernama