Year of the Durian

Inside a Malaysia Durian Export Factory

52 Comments

Where’s all the durian going? Malaysian durian lovers are upset. Or at least, the Malaysian media thinks they are. As numerous articles have freaked about, China is importing A LOT of Malaysian durians these days. Like, in the thousands of tons kind of a lot, and the only thing stopping the Chinese from eating more is that currently supply doesn’t match demand.

So who’s exporting all them Malaysia durians? What does the export process look like? My durian tour group was lucky enough to visit a Malaysia durian factory to taste the durian heading overseas. A big thank you to TRL Group (and Adrian in particular) for hosting us.

durian export

Durian Shipping Center in Kuala Lumpur

The small corner warehouse in a nondescript, industrial neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur didn’t look like it had the capacity to freeze 20 tons of Musang King per day for shipment into the wide world. A single banner tacked on the metal siding announced the company’s name and purpose, which was obvious from the beautiful aroma slowly leaking out of it’s open garage door.

It looked a lot smaller than Sunshine Durian Factory in Thailand, where sometimes 300 tons of durian arrive in a single day.

Durian exporting is a relatively new business in Malaysia. In May of 2011, Malaysia finally settled an agreement to begin shipping durian to China, breaking Thailand’s monopoly on the industry for the first time in about 30 years. So it’s not just the Malaysian media that’s freaking out, it’s Thailand’s durian industry too.

Adrian met us in front and ushered our group inside to a sterile-feeling work space with the requisite terrible lighting.

Adrian is the marketing director for TRL (Tropical Resource Ltd). The company was founded in 2012, when only a handful of other durian factories existed to ship durian overseas (including Top Fruits Factory, who I interviewed that year).

Now, as I’m writing this, TRL durians are en route to Melbourne in Australia, Vancouver in Canada, San Francisco and New York in the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, and China.

Adrian says they’ll arrive around December 15th, 2017, just in time for Christmas, so get excited!

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durian export

If Adrian was hoping for brand loyalty, I think he got it as our group happily devoured their Grade A, premium Musang King.

While we munched, Adrian explained that this smaller office and warehouse in Kuala Lumpur is not where they’re freezing the 20 tons for export. They have another, bigger factory that we’ll look at in just a minute.

Here, they store frozen durian for local distribution, and package fresh, whole durian for shipping to Brunei and Hong Kong using a new, odor-trapping technology.

Fresh Durian Export

Adrian explained, although they deal in D24 too, 90% of the durian they export fresh is Musang King.

This is not because Musang King is inherently better (I will control the rant) but because Musang King has a better shelf life than the other commercial favorite, D24.

You understand how long it takes to fly anywhere. After driving to the airport — which is always inconveniently out of town — going through security, stamping through customs, waiting around for flight delays, and doing it all again when you arrive in the destination country, days can go by.

So yes, by the time a Musang King arrives on the shelves in China, it does taste better than a D24.

Using a new packaging technique, Adrian explained, they can extend a Musang King’s shelf life to 6 or even 7 days, an unheard of antiquity for a freshly dropped durian.

The secret is vacuum-sealing. Adrian showed us how the company uses a hard plastic shell to dull the durian’s thorns, and then vacuum-seal the whole fruit.

Then they tuck the protected fruits in some boxes, stack them in a refrigerator, and off they go.

This box will likely end up in Hong Kong, where they send about 1500 kg per week during the durian season.

But fresh durian is still the minority of what they deal with. The majority of those 20 tons are flash frozen at their other, bigger warehouse in the Raub area of Pahang, about a 2 hour drive away.
frozen musang king

Frozen Musang King Durian

The warehouse was empty when we arrived. Although there was still plenty of durian in the area, the main glut when prices drop, had passed. It was no longer profitable for the company to bother with flash-freezing.

Which was kind of great, because it meant that Adrian let us go inside the hygienically out-of-bounds areas to look.

First we looked at the loading zone, where the durians are placed on moving conveyor belts to be cleaned, sterilized, and brought into this room.

This is the room where they process the durians into frozen durian paste or packets of frozen pieces.

Unlike some factories I’ve visited, which use damaged, squirrel-eaten, or odd-looking, “alien” shape durians in their shell-less durian products, TRL has to adhere to international hygiene standards. This means they’re also opening A-grade Musang King to freeze in easier-to-consume packets.

malaysia durian export

While D24 durians, which carry a cheaper price tag, are pulverized in huge mixers lining the walls. The seeds removed, the pure durian paste is then frozen into sheets, like this:

malaysia durian export

Durian paste is in high demand thanks to the invention of things like Durian Pizza and Durian Cream Puffs and Durian mochi (picture below).

Most bakeries in Asia have at least one durian-filled item, and as durian becomes more popular there are shops popping up dedicated to durian-only menus, like Durian Haven in Penang or Durian Cottage in Melaka.

Even Pizza Hut is likely sheets of frozen D24 pulp like this for their D24-flavored pizzas.

The reason 80% of the durian paste is made from D24 is because D24 is so much cheaper than Musang King.

A few whole D24s are frozen to send to Australia (where there is apparently demand for them), but mostly the company freezes whole Musang King durians in a machine that you would never ever want to get locked inside.

Freezing Durian For Export

The machine behind Adrian cryogenically freezes the durian. Cyrogenic freezing is the fastest form of flash-freezing, and is used to preserve food because it keeps the food the freshest tasting.

If you can maybe come back from the dead after being cyrogenically frozen, you can imagine that the nutrients and texture of the durian has to be pretty close to fresh too.

The way it works is by pumping liquified nitrogen (N) into the chamber, which quickly cools the durian to -80 C (-112 F!).

And in fact, this machine is the reason the company’s phone numbers are blurred out in this post. Adrian says the company already gets too many telemarketers trying to sell them liquid nitrogen or more freezing supplies.

When the durians are completely frozen, after about — minutes, they are transferred to large walk-in freezers for storage.

These freezers are about -18 C. Adrian shocked us all by walking into the freezer in his shirt sleeves to retrieve a sample durian. Brr!

These durians can store for up to 2 years, although they won’t stay in the freezer that long. There’s too much demand for Musang King, so shortly the durians are packed up, put on trucks, and shipped off to Port Klang to be eaten around the world.

Maybe you’ll get one in your stocking this Christmas!

Adrian has been kind of enough to put me in touch with the importers where their company’s durians will be sold in America and Australia this winter. When the durians are sold to supermarkets, I will create a list for you so you know where to buy.

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Comments

  1. Stacey says

    Hi, I’m looking for manufacturing of dried durian, can you please contact me 60107751848? Hope can get your reply as soon as possible. Thank you!

    Reply

  2. Narong PEN says

    Dear Sir/Madam,
    May we know that is it possible to send BLACK THORN DURIAN saplings from Malaysia to Cambodia and how?
    Thanks

    Reply

  4. rocky says

    dear
    I am a importer in
    I am going to import the durian to
    can you offer me?

    thanks
    rocky
    15931723678

    Reply

  5. Jason Chen says

    Hey! I’m Jason from China,

    How are you?

    Your factory seems good. Could you contact me by my email: [email protected].

    Please contact me, we will check if we can work together or not.

    Thanks

    Yours
    Jason

    Reply

  7. gabtson says

    I am looking for the durian supplier which could provide me 3-5tones in 1day, musang king, d24, 101 species.

    Reply

  8. Patrick says

    We offer fresh durian for export but only 2 container or more per week or month. We also have many tropical fruits, canned foods, dried foods, and frozen foods. We export around the world. Add me to WhatsApp if you are a serious buyer +66628308800

    Reply

  9. Genie Yee says

    Hi,

    I m looking for a factory which can do frozen for the plantation.
    Please contact my Wechat acc genieyee88

    Thank You

    Reply

  11. Alice Yeung says

    We are fruit importer for HK and China market. We are looking for coconut, durian and mangosteen. Please kindly contact me : Alice +65 9698 5274

    Reply

  12. RD says

    Where in melb can we purchase the durians? Is here a delivery! Or could we buy from Kl and have it sent to melb? I would reckon the amounts would need to be huge though?

    Reply

    • [email protected] says

      You can’t easily import from KL, but there are many distributors in Melbourne where you can buy frozen Musang King from Australia or even fresh local Australian durian. Try Grand Asian Produce (Melbourne) +61 (0)422778838

      Reply

  13. Vivian says

    My father is the owner of the Musang King orchard and supplies fruits for exporting overseas, we are looking for exporter company , please advise.

    Reply

    • Darren YANG says

      I am Darren YANG from China.i am looking for Musang king suppliers,both orchard owners or exporters.can we talk more?

      Pls add my wechat or whatsapp:0086 136 7197 9418

      Reply

  14. Yee chee yong says

    Hi ,

    I’m farmer from Bkt Gambir Penang we produce mainly ‘Durian kampung kahwin lama’ we can produce 1tons of fresh fruit daily during peak.

    I’m wondering any buyers for the fresh fruit and or the frozen durian paste?

    Thanks and Cheerrs
    Chee Yong
    0194166262

    Reply

    • Darren YANG says

      I am Darren YANG from China.i am looking for Musang king suppliers,both orchard owners or exporters.can we talk more?

      Pls add my wechat or whatsapp:0086 136 7197 9418

      Reply

  15. Hidayah says

    Hi, may I know they ship frozen durian specifically to china as a whole fruit or frozen flesh / pulp (without skin)?
    And how do they sell it to China; by weight or per fruit?

    Reply

  16. Ann Ooi says

    Dear Sir

    I want to export whole fruit frozen durian with N2 process from KL to Hong Kong.
    Can you please advise detail by return mail?

    Regards,
    Ann Ooi

    Reply

  17. Francis ong says

    I need d24 durian paste about 5 to 7 ton export to my China bakery shop. May I know your price.

    Thanks
    Francis ong

    Reply

  18. Jaden Tee says

    Hi all,

    May i know how to get the plastic shell that seal the whole durian from the article above?

    Thanks,
    Jaden Tee
    012-7372281

    Reply

  19. xy says

    Hi…. Wanted to know if Malaysia export whole fruit (musang king n D24) ? did blast freezing applied on the whole fruits ? or only applied to durian pulp and paste? Thanks

    Reply

  21. Max Ng says

    I have an orchard in kota tinggi. We plant durian, rambutan, mangosteen etc.. I am looking for exporter to take in our fruits.

    Reply

    • [email protected] says

      Hi Max, send me an email to durianyearATgmail.com and we’ll see about connecting you with someone 🙂

      Reply

    • Eliza says

      Hi Max, I am looking for supplier for tropical fruits for exporting. I have a contact in overseas who wants to expand their international food section at their supermarket. How can I contact you? What’s your email? Please send me an email [email protected].

      Reply

      • Avin says

        Hi Eliza,
        We own an orchard with durian (musang king), rambutan, cempedak, tropical coffee plants. We would like to supply to you if you are keen. Please email me on [email protected]. Thank you.
        Regards,
        Avin

        Reply

    • Helene says

      Hello Max, we have a shop in Germany and want to expand our business with tropical fruits. We are looking for supplier for durian, jackfruit, cempedak, mango, rambutan, papaya, mangosteen and other tropical fruits. Can you please contact me? That would be great! Please send me an email [email protected] Thank you. Helen

      Reply

  24. Ramza says

    Please comment on the u/m posting that is being viraled through WhatsApp. Was there a shipment of 20 containers of durian/musang king from Malaysia to China, rejected and reexported to Malaysia. The Customs Department of Malaysia and China should make an offical statement on this case. Tq.

    Kat pasaran lani ada 1 kontena durian musang king sbji dijual dlm hrga lebih kurang rm20..diminta adik beradik ka kwn2 ka yg ada kt kl jgn beli.kes terbaru makan durian tu msuk hosp..keracunan..ada racun dlm tu..harap berhati2.. durian di celup dlm bhan kimia dan dibekukan guna gas nitrogen , buah ni boleh tahan hingga setahun ,, buat masa sekarang ni , elakkan dari beli atau mkn bahan berperisa atau produk durian , bahaya ,,

    Please comment on this u/m that is being viralled in WhaysApp:-

    Reply

  25. Ramza says

    Kat pasaran lani ada 1 kontena durian musang king sbji dijual dlm hrga lebih kurang rm20..diminta adik beradik ka kwn2 ka yg ada kt kl jgn beli.kes terbaru makan durian tu msuk hosp..keracunan..ada racun dlm tu..harap berhati2.. durian di celup dlm bhan kimia dan dibekukan guna gas nitrogen , buah ni boleh tahan hingga setahun ,, buat masa sekarang ni , elakkan dari beli atau mkn bahan berperisa atau produk durian , bahaya ,,lease comment on this u/m that is being viralled in WhaysApp:-

    Reply

  26. Noel says

    Hey Lindsay, it’s Noel Ramos from Florida!…please let me know if these Durian can be bought in Florida…take care

    Reply

  27. Lian Shau Kong says

    Duria Australia has MK durians at Vietnamese Festival at the banks of Yarra River at Crown,Melbourne. 19NOV. Hope that they have been imported directly from Malaysia.

    Reply

  28. Kale Tanaka says

    I Just recently saw what is claimed to be fresh durian from Thailand at 99 ranch markets in Fremont and Richmond in the bay area Bay Area. It usually is all frozen in a bin pushed to the side of the meat aisle and cost 2.99$ a lb and taste like average frozen durian. These were in the produce section and looked of poor quality and some had mold growing on them. I decided against buying any because the asking price was around 9$ a lb. I am really hoping we can find some of the Musang King we saw when you took us to Raub in the Bay Area soon. I believe Adrian told us frozen Musang King from Raub would be sent here.

    Reply

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