KUALA LUMPUR: The government is formulating the best mechanism to avoid a steep fall in the price of ‘Musang King’ durian despite the dumping of the fruits, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday.
Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the ministry was prepared with an effective marketing strategy and there was a high demand from within and outside the country.
“Many are worried (that dumping will happen) when we encourage people to plant durian, currently, there are 1.5 million durian trees and 500,000 of them are Musang King...these trees will bear fruits soon, some people worry about dumping which will cause the price to fall.
“The strength of the Musang King is not on its production, but on its market,” he said when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2018 at the policy stage for the ministry.
Ahmad Shabery, who had recently returned from attending the Malaysian Durian Festival 2017 (MDF2017) in Nanning, China, said the potential market for the fruit was huge, especially in China.
Ahmad Shabery said the ministry was also formulating the best way to solve issues related to the authenticity of Musang King as there were irresponsible traders who were selling other types of durians at an expensive price and claiming them as Musang King.
“Do not be surprised (that in the future) there will be an identification chip on a Musang King that allows buyers to trace the real fruit and other information like where it was planted,” he said
He also urged the people to seize the opportunity to grow Musang King on a large scale.
“We want to see the price of Musang King to continue to increase in the international market and this will benefit the farmers. This is the best time for us to grow the Musang King,” he said. - Bernama