How low can you go? While some durian sellers are going limbo over their low priced durians, others are starting to feel the thorns prick their backs.

Four durian shops at Marine Parade – three of which are within 5 meters of each other – have started pricing competitively, increasing crowd density and driving down the price of the coveted musang king durian , reported Shin Min Daily News today (June 13).

Starting at just $5, durian seller Li, 34, has implemented his promotional price with additional requirements where each person can only buy two durians, while supplies last.

Another vendor who moved to the Marine Parade site this year, also known as Li, 32, sells his king musang for $8 each, but limits purchases to three per person.

A grade A king musang durian, for example, weighs around 1.6 kg and sells for around $25 per kilogram online, according to information from durian retailer 99 Old Trees’ website.

“Customers start lining up at 4 p.m., with some bringing their whole family here,” Li, 32, told Shin Min Daily News. “We won’t impose any restrictions – kids can buy it too.”

Li’s $8 durian musang king sold out within two hours, he added.

Li, 34, offered alternatives to his $5 king musang, telling the Shin Min Daily News, “We have many promotions such as red shrimp durians for $8-12 and king musang durians for $12. – these are not limited to purchase.”

But as customers flock to stores with lower prices, some may forget that other sellers are trying to make a living, he said.

“There is a lot of competition there, which affects some of us sellers,” Li, 34, also added.

Another seller by the name of Li, 30, also explained that price wars are to be expected in the area, but that is not necessarily a good deal for him.

“I used to see a steady stream of customers [in 2020]but now customers are going to shop,” said the 30-something. “Some customers think we don’t do promotions, but the truth is that’s the price of the durians our suppliers gave us.”

A large majority – more than 85% – of the durians imported into Singapore come from Malaysia, according to a Business Insider Malaysia report in March.

With this year’s poor harvest, durian prices in Malaysia have increased, making it more difficult to source durians for sale in Singapore, thus affecting durian prices here.

Even so, some Singaporeans are dead serious when it comes to their love of durians.

Last Wednesday, a durian seller found himself stuck between a rock and a thorny place when an unsatisfied customer asked for the popular musang king durian but received the “King of Kings” durian instead.

The customer felt like she had been scammed and made fun of in their next conversation, but the salesperson maintained that he recognized his mistake and had even provided better products since “King of Kings” was the most popular race. more expensive.

READ ALSO: Cafe Review: Durian Goes Classy At 99 Old Trees, A Durian Dessert Heaven In Teo Hong Road

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