PADANG TERAP: Durian growers and traders here say the dry weather in recent months has badly affected harvests and sales.
One of them is Ahmad Man.
The farmer said that in previous years, he could obtain more than four tonnes of 'durian kampung' each season from his 0.29ha orchard.
This time, though, the harvest came to only one tonne.
He blames it on the El Nino weather pattern.
The 70-year-old said earnings from the orchard, which he inherited from his grandfather, are significantly lower.
"The dry season this year was very intense, one of the worst I've experienced. Usually, I can get over 3,000 fruits, but this time there are just 1,000 fruits.
"Other farmers are affected as well. Many people prefer the 'durian kampung' to other variants due to its distinct taste, and farmers here usually make a healthy profit. But I made only about RM3,000.
"I sell my fruits at RM5 per kilogramme. With the smaller size, I can't make as much as in previous seasons," he said at his orchard in Kuala Nerang today.
Ahmad said that if he hadn't pumped water from nearby Sungai Pedu, he would have lost many of his trees. Some of them are more than 100 years old.
He said he spent RM7 a day on petrol for the pump for three months.
Durian trader Jaafar Bakar, 62, said his sales dropped from two tonnes to only 500kg due to poor supplies from farmers.
"Today, I'm offering 'durian kampung' from Padang Terap for RM10 per kg, but a few days ago it was RM15 because of the scarcity of the fruit.
"The scarcity is caused by the hot and dry weather. Usually, I receive one to two tonnes of durian and can sell everything in a day, but this year it's only 500 kg per day," he added.
Jaafar, who has been in the business for five decades, said prices have fallen because fruits from other states have entered the market here.
"However, demand is unaffected. People will always look for durian, especially 'durian kampung', which can be sourced from villages here."
The media had reported that durian production in Kedah is expected to fall by 20 to 30 per cent due to the hot weather.
Kedah Agriculture director Ramli Abdul Rahman had said durian trees do not require a lot of water, but if there is none at all, even decades-old trees could die.