PRICES of durian varieties at the Bankerohan Public Market have dipped to P35 per kilogram (kg) as its harvest season peaked this month.
Last month, durian was priced at P200 to P250 per kg and the Davao Durian Industry Association Council (DIADC) was expecting its price to go as low as P50 per kilogram during Kadayawan, depending on their quality.
The price, however, dropped lower than expected where even the famous Puyat variety could now be bought as low as P40/kg. However, there are still some selling durian as high as P80/kg.
DIADC secretary Manuel Villanueva said in a phone interview Thursday, August 22, that the trend is expected to continue in the next two weeks.
“We did not expect that durian supply will be this many. What happened is that most traders bought durian in bulk in farms including those fruits that are not yet maturely ripe because it will be expensive for them to harvest another batch. It takes another 15 to 20 days after harvest for right maturity,” Villanueva said in vernacular, adding that this has caused some durian fruits to have low quality.
“If you could observe, the price is very low but the way I see it, most harvest really lack maturity that is why it may look good outside but not so much on the inside of the fruit,” he said.
Villanueva said the buyers could expect the increase of durian prices by the first week of September as the supply decreases.
Meanwhile, prices of other Kadayawan fruits remain stable from last week’s price monitoring at Bankerohan Public Market.
Mangosteen still ranges from P35/kg to P40/kg; native lanzones are now at P50/kg; seedless lanzones at P80/kg; rambutan is now at P25/kg to P35/kg; and marang is now at P35/kg.