If you’re a durian lover, you’ve probably already had your fair share of durians during this durian season so far.
And even if you haven’t bought some of Singapore’s favourite fruit yet, you’ve probably heard of the falling prices of durians in Singapore due to the favourable weather conditions despite predictions that said otherwise.
In particular, the weather in Malaysia, where Singapore imports durians from, has been better, resulting in an increase in the supply of durians that have been exported to Singapore.
Apart from that, the durian season has also been pushed forward this year by around a month, as it usually takes place from July to August every year.
Reduced Prices of Durians
Over the past few weeks, durian sellers have also been offering discounts for their durians, with some sellers even selling one Mao Shan Wang durian for as cheap as $5.
While the market rate for Mao Shan Wang durians is roughly around $18 to $20 per kg, the recent increase in durian stocks has prompted many sellers to lower their prices, attracting more customers in return.
For example, Wang Sheng Li 95 at Bishan has lowered its prices from $18 to $12 for every kg of Mao Shan Wang durian bought.
The stall has also implemented a “buy five, get one free” promotion for its Black Gold durians, which are sold at $18 per kg.
Mr Tan Wee Siang, who operates the stall, told CNA that he has seen an increase in the number of customers buying durians from the stall.
However, another stallholder who mans a stall at the market at Bangkit Road had a different experience, saying that there has been a decrease in customers as compared to last year despite his stall also offering a lower price of $15 per kg of Mao Shan Wang durian.
As for D-Fruit, brothers Tim Soh and Sam Soh, who manage the Choa Chu Kang and Bangkit branches respectively, also revealed that the chain has reduced its durian prices.
Apart from Mao Shan Wang durians going for $13 per kg, D-Fruit has also reduced its Black Gold prices to $18 per kg.
To put things into perspective, Black Gold durians usually cost over $20 per kg.
Given the much cheaper prices, many shoppers that CNA talked to also expressed that they would be interested in buying more durians to enjoy during this durian season.
How the Weather Caused Durians to Become Cheaper
The Soh brothers who manage the D-Fruit branches also shared with CNA that the prices of durians have fallen partially due to the weather in Johor.
In particular, Johor experienced an increase in rainfall in April, as well as the extremely hot weather in May and June this year.
The combination of both factors allowed the durians to drop at a faster rate, bringing the durian season forward for this year.
In addition to that, the stocks from Pahang, Malaysia ended up being exported to Singapore at a similar time period this year, further increasing the supply of durians found in Singapore.
Stall Turns to Giving Away Free Durians
But it seems like even measures like that haven’t been enough for durian sellers and suppliers to clear their stocks, prompting them to turn to another way of making sure that they don’t end up with extra stocks: giving them away.
For free.
Over at D-Fruit’s Choa Chu Kang branch, the stall conducted a free durian giveaway last weekend for individuals over the age of 60.
The stall ended up giving away 600kg of durians to elderly in the area, with Tim Soh sharing that the durians were all snapped up in less than half an hour after the event started.
Tim Soh added that there were no youngsters who tried their luck at getting free durians during the giveaway, and that they would have shooed them away if they tried to do so.
And this week, it’s time for fellow Soh brother Sam’s branch to do the same; the D-Fruit stall at Bangkit Road will be giving out free durians to those over the age of 60 from Tuesday (21 June) to Thursday (23 June) this week.
During these three days, customers aged 60 and above will be able to get two free durians if they visit the stall located in the Bukit Panjang neighbourhood from 5pm onwards.
And it seems like the giveaway has also been received extremely well over at Bangkit.
Just yesterday (21 June), all the free durians were given away by 5.30pm, with people starting to queue up for them from 4.30pm onwards.
This was despite the fact that the stall only promoted the giveaway through word of mouth earlier in the morning.
Sam Soh explained that the brothers had planned to hold the giveaway in 2020, but were unable to due to the MCO (Movement Control Order) that was enforced in Malaysia.
Hence, the brothers decided to take the opportunity this time to carry out the giveaway since durians are in ample stock and are cheaper this time around.
He added that they would have been able to sell the durians even if they chose to not hold the giveaway, but wished to give back to the elderly residents in the two neighbourhoods.
Apart from the D-Fruit stalls, Shopee also conducted a durian giveaway recently on Saturday (18 June).
The e-commerce platform gave away 300kg of durians at Plaza Singapura, and shoppers had the chance to win another $100 worth of durians by participating in a quiz.
Shopee also released vouchers for individuals to claim free durian wafer ice creams and durian puffs at the same venue.
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