THAT’S ALL I HAVE: A trader at the seasonal fruit market shows the ‘dabai’ that he has.
SIBU: The tropical fruit market here has been badly hit by climate change as yields have dwindled during this current fruit season.
This has forced their prices to soar sharply, and with the peak of the harvest supposed to come by December, farmers doubt their supply will last that long.
In the seasonal fruit market at Mission Road now, a durian fruit can cost up to RM25.
A consumer said he used to buy a bundle of five durians for only RM10 some years back.
A kilogramme of dabai or Rajang’s black olive has hiked from between RM25 and RM30 to between RM30 and RM35 in less than seven days.
Some years ago, when harvest was bountiful, the olives cost only RM10 per kg, and the prices would keep dropping late in the nights when traders tried to clear their stock.
A customer at the market said yesterday there was not much room for bargain this year because supply was scarce.
A farmer, who withheld his name, told The Borneo Post yesterday his fruit trees in Kanowit had not flowered at all, let alone fruiting.
He said the orchard next to his had some fruits but not sufficient to meet the market demand.
The orchard owner blamed it on the climate, saying it had been unusually wet at certain months and extremely dry in some months.
“The climate pattern is no longer constant; this has greatly affected the flowering and the fruiting seasons.”
He said it was worst last December when his orchard yielded no fruits at all.
“I have been into farming for decades; we only see this unusual weather pattern these few years.”
He said durian trees used to start flowering in August to October, and within 100 days, harvest would be bountiful.
“But, there were not as many flowers this year.”
He said the situation was made worst by the squirrels foraging their farms.
In 2009, he recalled there was only one durian harvest.
“That situation was already abnormal because we used to have up to three or four harvests annually.”
Meanwhile, traders at the seasonal fruit market in Mission Road here said they doubted the tropical fruit season would last until December.
“Some farmers have forewarned us, saying many of their fruit trees have not flowered. So, there will be less fruits.”