Malaysian Attempts Highest Durian Husk Tower
His failure was caused by a suppy shortage of the king of fruits.
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There is nothing quite like the love Malaysians have for durians.
Recently, Mohd Nur’halim Zulkifli, 36 used the king of fruits for an unusual feat where he “set a new record”, albeit unofficially, for the highest durian husk tower on 9 July 2023.
This odd venture took place at a four-day durian event last week at the PD Ostrich Show Farm in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, to mark the inaugural International Durian Day.
The tallest durian husk stack, measuring 97cm, was made by Nur’halim, a fire technician, in front of authorised officials from the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR).
His achievement was significantly superior to that of the other 24 competitors, who had previously reached a height of 73cm.
Although this is the best performance to date, Nur’halim’s achievement does not match the 1-meter minimum height requirement to be certified as an official world record, according to MBR Senior Record Consultant Siti Hajar Johor.
However, the failure was not for a lack of trying.
Apparently, there is a shortage of durians.
The mid-year peak durian season in Malaysia experienced a sudden supply shortage since Sunday, 25 June.
The cause of this shortage can be attributed to climate change, according to Shahrizan Ab Rahman, owner of Shah’s Durian, a major distributor and retailer handling the supply of durians across Malaysia and exporting to many countries.
He remarked that durian supply hit the market way earlier than it should.
The heatwave some months back triggered early durian flowering and that led to some fruits ripening faster than expected. Durian farmers didn’t realise how widespread this impact was and this resulted in an early glut where durian prices fell sharply.
Shahrizan Ab Rahman
He said because the first batch ripened too early and the next batch of durians, which were not affected by the heatwave normally ripen by end-July, this has seen a sudden lack of durians since 25 June.
There should be fresh durians again by 25 July onwards
Shahrizan Ab Rahman
Negeri Sembilan state agriculture department director Hisyam Yacob also shared widespread complaints of fresh durians not being available in recent weeks when they presented information on durian hybrids and the industry prospects at the event.
Shahrizan also mentioned that the prices of durians are expected to rise when the next batch hits the market, but the industry forecast is that fresh durians will be available until mid-October this year, far later than when durians would usually disappear from stalls which was mid-August.
He encouraged Malaysians to take advantage of durians at their current pricing as the majority of farmers and suppliers in Malaysia anticipate a significant local supply shortfall beginning in January as a result of the resumed shipments to China.
According to event organiser Francis Nantha, the objective of the event was to highlight the challenges that the industry must face in the future.
He said that it’s time to consider other options than simply consuming the fruit alone or in other foods like cakes and pastries.
He said many people are unaware that 90% of the fruit, including the prickly husks and seeds, are discarded as garbage.
These waste products have huge commercial potential due to their high fibre content, which make them very suitable as sustainable chipboard supply for furniture production. The seeds are also edible and the overall high sulphur content, giving the distinct durian smell, make it a great antiseptic.Â
Francis Nantha
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