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Ushar Daniele

Malaysia’s durian growers say they are in “survival mode” as an early bumper harvest collides with a surge in fuel and freight costs, squeezing an export trade built around getting premium fruit into China fast.
Hot weather has brought harvests forward, swelling supply just as exporters face higher packaging, energy and transport costs, with the Iran war disrupting fuel supplies and making cargo more expensive.
The strain is exposing the vulnerability of Malaysia’s durian industry, which has built its model around quality, branding and tightly managed cold-chain logistics rather than the volumes shipped by regional rivals.
For farmers like Stephen Chow, the bigger harvest expected in the coming weeks is forcing a rethink of the supply chain at the worst possible moment.
Chow is the director of Chow Kai Pheng Enterprise, which exports durian from his 25-acre farm in Pahang to China and Hong Kong. He said growers were now cutting costs and reducing wastage simply to stay afloat.

He said packaging and logistics had previously accounted for about 20 per cent of export revenue, but in recent weeks he had been bracing for that share to rise to as much as 50 per cent.
“We didn’t expect the war to impact us this badly,” Chow said. “We are trying not to shift the costs to consumers.”
China is now the world’s largest durian market, importing billions of dollars’ worth each year and helping transform Malaysia’s durian sector into a high-value export trade.
In 2024, China imported about US$7 billion worth of durians, roughly triple the value in 2020, from suppliers including Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and, more recently, Laos.
Bumper harvests had been welcomed by farmers in previous years, Chow said, but not this time.
Musang King, Malaysia’s best-known premium durian variety, fetched about US$18 per kilogram last year but has fallen to around US$5 in recent weeks, with prices expected to slide further as larger harvests arrive in May and June.
While China continues to import durian from Thailand and Vietnam, Malaysian growers have tried to distinguish themselves on quality rather than quantity.
“We position Musang King in the premium market and we need to maintain that, so in the long term we need to develop this segment instead of competing,” Chow said.
Durian industry experts said the pressures now emerging were exposing a deeper structural weakness in Malaysia’s premium fruit trade, with the sector heavily reliant on China and less diversified than some rival exporters.
Malaysia-based Asian durian expert Lim Chin Khee said Malaysia had chosen to compete on quality and branding rather than volume, a strategy that worked under stable conditions but left the industry more vulnerable when external shocks hit.
Malaysia’s durian export trade, particularly for Musang King, depends on speed and a tightly managed cold chain to preserve quality. But rising fuel and transport costs, worsened by uncertainty linked to the Iran war, are now squeezing exporter margins.


“Exporters either have to absorb the increase or pass it down the chain, which is not always easy,” Lim said. “Compared to Thailand, Malaysia already operates at a higher cost structure, so any increase in logistics costs tends to hit harder.”
Official data showed Malaysia exported 115,359 tonnes of durian to China worth about US$1.61 billion between 2018 and June 2025. Putrajaya has said export value could reach about US$455 million by 2030.
By comparison, Thailand exported over 900,000 tonnes of durian in 2025 worth roughly US$4.69 billion, up from a year earlier.
Musang King, in particular, is marketed as a premium fresh product and its value depends on timely delivery.
“If air freight becomes too expensive or less reliable, exporters may reduce shipments or shift more volume into frozen products, which generally fetch lower margins,” Lim said.
“So while Musang King’s premium positioning is a strength, it also makes it more sensitive to disruptions in logistics.”
For Malaysia’s export-driven durian industry, the pressure is especially acute because premium fresh fruit must reach consumers in China within 48 to 72 hours, leaving exporters with little room to switch to slower, cheaper transport options.
“However, demand in China remains strong, particularly for our premium variety Musang King. Especially now people prefer fresh over frozen,” said Eric Chan, president of the Malaysian Durian Manufacturers Association.
Chan said some excess supply was being diverted back to the domestic market and Singapore but added that the industry needed to move towards diversification and value expansion into newer markets such as the Middle East and other parts of Asia, as well as processed durian products.
“We need to make durian as a common flavour like chocolate, vanilla and strawberry and we have barely tapped into this segment with our durians,” he said.
Lim said Malaysia would need to diversify its export markets while strengthening its frozen and processed durian segments to improve cost efficiency and supply-chain resilience.

He said the current environment was less a short-term disruption than a stress test of how resilient and adaptable the industry really was.
“Those who can manage quality, cost, and flexibility will continue to do well, but the gap between stronger and weaker players is likely to widen,” Lim said.
But for farmers like Chow, the immediate goal is simply to get fruit sold and break even.
“We are in survival mode, we are cutting costs and we hope the government can help with some relief to help farmers get through this period,” he said.


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An early bumper harvest and rising fuel and freight costs are squeezing premium durian exporters as they race to get their fruit into China


An early bumper harvest and rising fuel and freight costs are squeezing premium durian exporters as they race to get their fruit into China.


Malaysia’s durian growers in ‘survival mode’ as early glut and Iran war hit export trade

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}An early bumper harvest and rising fuel and freight costs are squeezing premium durian exporters as they race to get their fruit into China

An early bumper harvest and rising fuel and freight costs are squeezing premium durian exporters as they race to get their fruit into China