Thai durian dismay: Growers feeling ‘fruit-ile’ as production plummets

The revered Nonthaburi durian, a cherished variety of Thailand’s king of fruits, has witnessed a drastic production decline to just 10% compared to the previous year, plunging growers into a state of crisis.

This significant drop is attributed to the rapidly changing and prolonged hot weather conditions affecting the country. The scarcity has driven up the prices of this year’s Nonthaburi durian to unprecedented levels.

Samrueng Sunthornsang, the President of the Durian Nonthaburi Conservation and Restoration Association, revealed the dire situation. Having cultivated durian for two decades, this year has been marked as the most critical period for the Nonthaburi durian.

The extreme weather patterns and environmental changes have had a deleterious impact on durian flowers, either preventing them from blooming or causing them to fall off prematurely.

Despite the growers’ consistent care and maintenance, the drastic weather shift from a brief cold snap lasting only one or two days directly to scorching heat, influenced by the El Niño phenomenon since late last year, has had a severe impact.

The implication of these adverse conditions is a steep rise in the prices of durian this year, particularly for the sought-after Kan Yao and Monthong varieties. Samrueng’s survey of various orchards revealed that the yield is roughly 10% of the previous year’s bounty. For instance, his orchard produced 1,500 durians last year, but this year the number has dwindled to just 150.

In the previous year, his orchard harvested about 50 Kan Yao durians, but this year, the count has not even reached 10. Similarly, the Phuang Manee variety, which yielded 600 to 700 fruits last year, has produced less than 20 this year. The Monthong variety is also down to fewer than 100 fruits, reported KhaoSod.

This scarcity means that anyone who gets to taste a Nonthaburi durian this year is incredibly fortunate. With such limited production, even those who reserved their durians early are likely to receive only a handful.