BALIK PULAU, April 21 — The durian season in Balik Pulau usually begins in May but this year the king of fruits have started to drop onto ground during the movement control order (MCO) period.
As a result, durian orchard owners look for alternative ways to market and sell the fruits including through WhatsApp and WeChat mobile messaging applications.
In compliance with the MCO over Covid-19, the sellers are also providing delivery service for their customers.
Bao Sheng Durian Orchard owner Chang Teik Seng, 53, said he could get 20 durian varieties from the 300 trees planted in his orchard in Sungai Pinang here.
“I been selling durians for over 30 years...I expect the durians will drop into the ground from early May until July.
“Although this season, durian lovers cannot come to my orchard to feast on durians, fret not, we will provide delivery service. I’m producing durians organically here as they are free from pesticide,” he told Bernama here today.
In addition, Chang said he would also send the fruits to selected organic fruit stores in Pulau Tikus and Bayan Baru.
He said customers can book their durians through the durian.com website or send a WhatsApp message to 012-411 0600 and they would have to collect their orders at the fruit stores adding that he would only sell fresh durians.
Another Balik Pulau durian orchard owner, Ong Kim Huan, said at the moment, providing delivery service could be among the best ways to sell durians for this season.
He said as he could not accept customers to his store, customers could place their order online or via WhatsApp and he would deliver ready-to-eat durians to them.
“Some customers have started to contact me asking about durians and they are happy and excited to know that we will be selling them online. I did not expect they would start looking for durians this early,” he said. — Bernama
