It's the tropical fruit with an aroma so offensive that in some countries it is banned on public transport and has caused entire buildings to be evacuated after its odour was mistaken for a gas leak.

And while one movie star refers to it as "the blue cheese of fruit", for the Siah family, the smell of durian is sweet.

Sorry, this audio has expired How do you stop durian smells from leaking?

Originally from Malaysia, the Siahs planted their first durian trees on their farm near Darwin more than 30 years ago and have just started harvesting what will be their biggest crop ever — around 40 tonnes.

"I think we've perfected the growing of durian in a non-tropical environment, which has been challenging in a place like the Northern Territory," Han Shiong Siah said.

"We've worked out what nutrition is required and how to make sure the trees survive the Territory's dry season.

"The colder weather hammers the tree and you sometimes think 'why am I trying to grow durian here?' but when the season arrives, it's a good reward."

Because of their smell, durians are banned from public transport and hotels in some Asian countries. ( Supplied: Han Shiong Siah )

Mr Siah said his family would harvest several more tonnes of durian this year compared to 2017, but it would be very easy to sell the bumper crop.

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"There's a market there [for this extra fruit], absolutely," he said.

"At the moment we're really only competing against frozen imports, so to produce fresh durian, which actually has a smell about it, the consumers once they find it, there's a real market for it."

The HEW1 variety of durian is currently selling for $27 a kilogram, with the average durian weighing between two and four kilograms.

What about the smell?

Mr Siah does not argue when the suggestion durians smell like rotten socks with a hint of garlic.

"The smell does put [a lot] of people off, but I love that type of smell and people get addicted to it," he said.

"I've got people at the front gate now knocking at my door to buy durian."

Durians made international headlines earlier this month after an Indonesian passenger plane was delayed because those on board protested about a two-tonne load of durian leaking odours inside the cabin.

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Mr Siah said his farm went through a similar situation years ago.

"Back in the 1990s we use to send quite a few durians fresh out of the Territory using Ansett," he recalled.

"A direct flight from Darwin to Melbourne had to do a slight detour into Adelaide to offload our cargo.

"I understand a bit of [the odour] got into the cabin and disturbed a lot of non-durian loving people."

Mr Siah said there was a lot of pressure on durian farmers to make sure the fruit's odour did not 'leak' during transport.

That involves careful packing of the fruit into foam boxes, and sealing them tightly.

He said his farm was focussed on the domestic market, but as the plantation continued to mature and produce more fruit, they might consider exporting in the coming years.

"There are very good prices everywhere, especially in northern parts of Asia," he said.

"At the moment we don't think we have the volumes yet for export, but maybe in a couple of years.

"Having the new direct flights to Hong Kong will benefit us; we'll just need to figure out how to transport it."