The hot weather in Malaysia made durians ripen faster, said durian vendors in Singapore. ― Picture by KE Ooi

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 — Durian vendors in Singapore have reported sharp declines in prices due to an abundant supply as a result of conducive weather here, according to The Straits Times today.

The Singaporean newspaper reported that the musang king varietal is currently selling at S$12 (RM35) to S$15 per kg, down from its usual price of between S$28 and S$35 per kg, according to seven durian vendors.

It also said other popular varieties such as red prawn, D13 and D24, which usually sell at an average of S$15 each, are now going for just over a third of that price. These varieties usually weigh 1.5kg to 2kg each.

The hot weather in Malaysia made durians ripen faster, said durian vendors in Singapore.

According to one of the vendors, Tan See Cheng, 48, owner of Deluxe (SG) Enterprise in Geylang, which sells and supplies durians, said that the oversupply came unexpectedly on Sunday.

“Usually, stocks will pile in slowly. But on Sunday, the durians came in too suddenly. We are selling at a loss right now because we have too many durians.

“We are even throwing away some because we are unable to sell them,” he was quoted saying in The Straits Times.

Last year, Malaysia exported more than 14,000 tonnes of durians, mostly to Singapore, according to United Nations Commodity Trade data.

This was down from about 17,700 tonnes in 2016.