The rapid expansion of the local durian industry has created a huge market for the industry, resulting in numerous private associations emerging to cater for the needs of the industry players.
However, the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry hopes industry players will unite under a single federation to ease management.
“The ministry encourages durian industry players to form a single industry federation. Currently, there are too many associations representing growers, importers, and other sectors. We hope for a unified durian federation or board.
“With a central federation, communication between the government and the industry can be more efficient.
“We cannot inspect every single consignment (price) or consult every individual player, so we need a representative body,” its deputy minister Chan Foong Hin told Malaysiakini during a joint media interview on Feb 9.
He also mentioned that the ministry plans to expand the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (MPIB) into a "pineapple, coconut, and durian board" for these high-value commercial fruits to be more streamlined.
“The government does not encourage the establishment of many new departments without a good reason, as the overall direction is towards streamlining.
“The reason for grouping pineapple and durian (into one organisation) is because they are both high-value commercial fruits.”
Chan noted that while the proposal was first mooted in 2023, it is currently still at the cabinet paper preparation stage.
Once the cabinet paper is ready, he said it must be approved by the cabinet and then sent to the Attorney-General's Chambers for legislative amendments. The process is expected to take another two years.
Debate on ‘national fruit’
On another note, Chan said his ministry is deliberating whether to designate pineapple or the durian as Malaysia’s "national fruit”.
“The pineapple board cited Department of Statistics Malaysia data claiming that 80 percent of the people want the pineapple to be the ‘national fruit’.
“Naturally, durian industry players strongly disagreed. They argue, ‘it should be the durian, because we served it to (Chinese President) Xi Jinping during his visit.’
“Therefore, the ministry needs to coordinate this further,” he added.
Strengthening communication with durian players
Chan also stated that the ministry intends to step up engagement with durian industry players this year to ensure the sector's healthy development.
He pointed out that the industry faces various challenges, such as sudden price drops, which require collective brainstorming to find appropriate solutions.
“We plan for more frequent exchanges with durian players this year. At the end of last year, they faced a sudden drop in selling prices, which sparked significant debate within the industry.
“As production increases, we need to decide on the next steps. Branding requires maintaining the tradition of waiting for the fruit to fall naturally.
“However, if we want a year-round supply, some suggest harvesting directly from the tree.
“The ripening process can be adjusted according to logistics; there is still much room for discussion. For now, there are no definitive answers,” Chan added. - Mkini
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