Vendors hit as price of Thai durian imports rise
The price of durian from Thailand has risen sharply this year, leading to shrinking profits for fruit vendors in Phnom Penh as demand from China for the spiky, pungent fruit grows more robust. On Sihanouk Boulevard, fruit vendor Heng Sovanna said that since March, the price of Thai durian from wholesalers rose from about $1.60 to $2.50 per kg, while his retail price has made an incremental jump from $3.10 to $3.35. He cited growing demand from China and lower available supplies to Cambodia, which imports most of its durian from Thailand, as the cause of the price hike. … Kao Thouk, a durian wholesaler in Neak Meas market, is facing the same situation. She now pays $1.30 per kg, up from $0.60 last May. … According to media in Malaysia, one of the world’s biggest growers of durian, Malaysian Agriculture Minister Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said there has been great demand for the fruit in China since it came onto the market in frozen packaged form in 2011. The sale of frozen durian and related products in China increased from $1.45 million in 2011 to $6.2 million this year, The Star newspaper reported. … But for sellers of Cambodian durian, grown mainly in Kompong Cham and Kampot provinces, business and prices are as normal, as domestic demand remains buoyant during the harvest season from May to July, said Om Srey Mom, who sells fruit on Sihanouk Boulevard. “We sell only Cambodian durian so we are not affected by the China situation,” said Ms. Srey Mom, who sells her durian for between $2 and $3.75 per kg. …
Kang Sothear and George Styllis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/vendors-hit-as-price-of-thai-durian-imports-rise-59964/
