GUA MUSANG, July 1 — A durian trader and entrepreneur in Kampung Batu Papan 2 has been forced to discard about a tonne of musang king, kampung and jungle durians that have spoiled.
Chong Yok Fon, 55, said the losses involved durians of various types and sizes, including Grade A fruit that can fetch up to RM68 per kilogramme.
To minimise waste, he said he offers durians that do not meet sale standards free of charge to customers who visit his farm.
“Every morning, we separate the fruits according to size and grade. If any are damaged, spoiled or attacked by insects or pests, we do not sell them to customers.
“Some of these fruits can still be eaten or processed into other dishes, while others are more suitable for making tempoyak. It’s up to the customer,” he said when met by reporters here today.
Chong said an estimated 200kg to 300kg of spoiled durians are removed from his farm each week.
He has about 1,000 durian trees aged between 10 and 40 years and said there is no limit to the number of unsold fruits customers may take home.
“If no one is interested, we have no choice but to throw them away, on top of bearing losses caused by the unpredictable weather over the past two months.
“The weather has been very hot during the day but rainy at night, disrupting fruit development. Most of the older and larger trees do not receive enough water, which affects fruit production,” he said, adding that many young fruits had also fallen due to strong winds.
