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If you have been holding out for cheaper durians, you may not want to wait much longer.
Just weeks after a bumper harvest sent durian prices tumbling across Singapore, sellers said the unusually abundant supply has begun easing since last week as Malaysian state Johor’s durian season winds down.
They believe the days of heavily discounted durians and free giveaways have come to an end.
“The supply is still there, but not much,” Alvin Teoh, owner of popular Geylang fruit shop Durian 36, said.
The recent flood of cheap durians was caused by what is known in agriculture as a bumper harvest – an unusually large harvest produced within a short period.
According to Kelvin Tan, owner of 99 Old Trees Durian, both Johor and Pahang experienced bumper harvests at almost exactly the same time this season.
“It was a wave,” Tan said. “Both the Pahang and Johor harvests happened at the same time.”
Several consecutive days of hot weather caused huge numbers of durians to ripen and fall simultaneously, resulting in an unusually large amount of fruit reaching the market at once.
Unlike many fruits, however, durians are highly perishable.
“We’re talking about really like 48 hours. These fruits cannot keep for too long,” Tan said.
That left sellers scrambling to clear stock before the fruit spoiled.
As supply briefly outpaced demand, many slashed prices and rolled out promotions.
Teoh said the bumper harvest only lasted a few days.
“Some shops were selling Mao Shan Wang for as low as S$6 (US$4) per kg (2lbs). There were free durians too,” he said.

The bumper harvest, however, was always expected to be temporary.
Tan said Johor’s harvest is now tapering off, leaving mainly Pahang durian plantations to supply the market.
“The harvest isn’t as heavy any more. Johor is receding already,” he added.
Teoh said he first noticed supplies beginning to tighten as far back as July 2.
Although durians remain readily available, he expects prices to start climbing as supplies become less abundant.
Ah Seng Durian appears to be seeing similar conditions.
In a series of social media messages posted on July 6, the popular durian seller told customers it was experiencing a “declining supply” while urging them not to “wait too long”, adding that “supply is really dwindling” even as demand remained strong.
One post also noted that the stall’s final batch of delivery orders for the day had just gone out, thanking customers for their patience “on the declining supply and arrangements as we bring the Kings, fresh from the orchards to your doors”.
Ah Seng Durian declined to comment on the current market situation.
At Durian 36, Mao Shan Wang, which retailed for around S$18 to S$19 per kg, has risen to S$22 a kg. Teoh expects prices to climb even higher next week as supplies continue to tighten.
Similarly, at 99 Old Trees, premium Mao Shan Wang and Black Gold, which retailed for around S$20 to S$21 per kg during the recent bumper harvest, are now selling for around S$23 to S$24 per kg.


To consumers, it may seem puzzling that reports of an oversupply have been followed so quickly by sellers talking about tighter supplies.
Tan said that is simply how the durian market works.
When large numbers of fruits ripen and fall together, the market is briefly flooded with supply. But once that wave passes, harvest volumes naturally return to normal.
Because durians have such a short shelf life, sellers cannot hold excess stock for long either.
“The news cannot catch up with the durians,” Tan said with a laugh.
“By the time the news reports the ‘durian tsunami’, and people come looking for cheap durians, [the wave is] already over.”
Ironically, while this year’s bumper harvest was short-lived, Tan believes similar episodes may become more common in future.
He traces the trend back to 2019, when China opened its market to fresh Malaysian durians.
As demand and prices surged, many Malaysian growers expanded their plantations and planted more trees.
Those trees are now beginning to bear fruit.
“So now we are in 2026, some of these farms that were cultivated back in 2020 are starting to fruit,” he said.
Tan expects Malaysia’s overall durian supply to continue growing by around 2 to 3 per cent each year.
However, because harvests remain highly dependent on weather conditions, bumper crops can still occur over a short period before quickly tapering off.
An increase in supply also does not necessarily mean better-quality fruit.
Tan said many of Malaysia’s newer plantations are still harvesting from relatively young trees.
“The fruit looks nice on the outside, but inside it’s semi-ripe. The taste is very bland,” he said.
According to him, durian trees need several more years to mature before they consistently produce the rich, creamy flavours consumers expect.
For consumers hoping prices will fall even further, both sellers have similar advice: do not wait too long.
Tan said based on what he is seeing on the ground, he expects prices to climb by 5 per cent this weekend as Johor’s durian season continues to taper off.
“If you want to eat durians, better eat them now already,” he said.
For Teoh, his advice is simple: “Don’t wait for the durian price to drop. Durians don’t wait for you.”
This story was first published by CNA


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‘If you want to eat durians, better eat them now already,’ a seller says as supplies become less abundant


‘If you want to eat durians, better eat them now already,’ a seller says as supplies become less abundant.


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In Singapore, ‘durian tsunami’ won’t last long as prices rise and wave ebbs

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘If you want to eat durians, better eat them now already,’ a seller says as supplies become less abundant

‘If you want to eat durians, better eat them now already,’ a seller says as supplies become less abundant