Malaysian durian farms feel climate strain while chasing China’s growing appetite

Malaysian durian growers such as Stephen Chow are seeing profits shrink as floods, heat and rising input costs driven by climate change hit yields while they chase China’s expanding market.

In Karak, Malaysia, orchard owner Stephen Chow works night shifts to harvest premium durians for Chinese buyers, but repeated floods in 2021, rain-induced pollination problems and recent heat waves have cut his output and raised production costs. Fuel and fertilizer price hikes linked to the Iran war further erode profitability, and an oversupply of locally grown fruit has driven the price of Grade A Musang King to about $8.6 per kilogram, roughly half last year’s level.

China’s “durian diplomacy” has spurred a near-quadrupling of Malaysia’s cultivated area since 2016 and made the country a major exporter, yet Thailand and Vietnam still dominate the market. Climate data show average temperatures in Peninsular Malaysia rising 0.24 °C per decade, prompting growers such as Ooi Teik Hock to relocate orchards to cooler highlands and increase pesticide use, while advisers like Lim Chin Khee warn that excess rain or drought can blemish fruit.

Some farms, exemplified by Kie Kim Hwa on Penang Island, are deploying sensors and cloud-based data to anticipate weather impacts. The combined pressure of climate change and market dynamics leaves many growers expecting losses this year.