Likely an attempt to sabotage the popularity of the fruit.
Facts to debunk the rumour:
- Durians won’t last the journey to China and back because of its short lifespan
- Only frozen durian pulps are allowed to be exported to China
- The shape of the fruits in the viral photo is allegedly not of the Musang King
- Durian yields have returned to normal from the previous shortage due to bad weather
- Prices in Bentong and Raub are lower because of their proximity to durian orchards
A message with an attached photo showing Musang King durians went viral on Friday, claiming that the durians were rejected for export to China and were being sold cheaply locally.
The message on WhatsApp claimed that “China rejected close to 20 containers of Musang King durians due to too high insecticide detected in the fruit and the durians have been returned back to Malaysia and were sold at a cheap price in Raub and Bentong for RM30 per kg.”
Raub Durian Orchard owner Eddie Yong said the news is untrue, the New Straits Times reported.
“It clearly does not make sense….who wants to pay the transportation fees to bring the durian back to Malaysia. The lifespan of our durians is only within one to two days before its gets rotten.
“Based from what I heard, the photograph (of durian which went viral) might have been taken in Thailand and some irresponsible individuals had circulated it claiming it is from Bentong and Raub which is known as the hometown of durians.”
According to Karak Organic Durian Farm owner Ng Swee Ten, the durian fruits in the viral photo does not belong to the Musang King variety.
“It is not the shape of Musang King and furthermore all this while we are only allowed to export frozen durian pulps to China.
“There has been an abundance of supply for the Musang King variety and that is the reason for the price to drop to between RM30 and RM50 from RM100 previously. There are so many durians orchards in Bentong and Raub with some competition to attract customers,” he was quoted as saying, adding durian lovers will not be easily duped by such news.
A report by local food blog http://www.placesandfoods.com has also rubbished the news and debunked the story, pointing out that durians slated for export to China are frozen, regardless of whether they are to be exported whole or in packets, which did not appear to be the case with the huge pile of durians in the photos.
Echoing the same sentiments as the durian orchard owners, the report also said that the lower durian prices recently were because durian yields have gone back to normal from the previous shortage due to bad weather, not because there are suspect durians being sold for cheap.
It also pointed out that Malaysian durians are only harvested once they have fallen from their branches and thus have a short shelf life. Therefore, the durians would not last a return trip from Malaysia to China and back again.
It further explained that the lower durian prices in the two areas were because of their proximity to durian orchards.