JOHOR BARU, May 12 — The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) has no power to control and set the ceiling price for Musang King durians.
Its director-general, Datuk Ahmad Ishak, said this was because the fruit was not in the list of controlled items, especially during certain seasons.
As such, he said FAMA could only adopt the Grading, Packaging and Labelling Regulations 2008 on matters relating to the fruit.
“Under the regulations, the seller must put on display the price, grade and source country of the fruit to make it easier for the buyers to learn the features of the Musang King durian,” he said when commenting on the issues relating to Musang King durian, which was said to be sold at too high a price that could reach RM100 per kilogramme.
Ahmad said this to reporters when met at the green-eating promotional campaign held in conjunction with the National Teachers’ Day Festival at Plaza Angsana here today.
Ahmad said the high market demand and shortage of out-of-season supply were among the factors pushing the price of durian up.
“This fruit has two seasons, one is the main season between July and September, while the other is from end of December until March.
“When in season, the price of durian is lower because of the abundant supply, and what is happening now is because it is out-of-season,” he said.
He also advised consumers to learn the features of the Musang King durian to avoid being duped by sellers who would take advantage of the situation to sell other durian species to them. — Bernama
