Selling durians may seem like a goldmine, but for one Malaysian vendor, the reality has been nothing short of exhausting — and financially painful.
Taking to Facebook to vent her frustrations, the durian seller revealed that she has not only lost sleep but also lost more than RM5,000 in costs she couldn’t recover, all while working long hours trying to keep the business afloat.
Couldn’t cover RM5,000 in cost
Today I sold durians, and still couldn’t recover over RM5,000 in costs. I’m so tired. This is a huge loss. I can’t even sleep properly,” she wrote.
She explained that the durian market is currently in a race to the bottom, with sellers slashing prices just to stay competitive.
Even though her cost price is RM25 per kg, she often has to sell at that exact price — or even lower — just to move stock. If the durians spoil, she absorbs the loss herself as farmers and suppliers don’t offer compensation.
Some customers want compensation if the durian is too wet. If it’s too dry, they also complain. We can’t afford to offend customers, but at the same time, we’re the ones taking all the loss. We even have to lower the price just to survive. Honestly, the suffering is something we just swallow.”
Selling below cost, just to keep going
In a follow-up video, she broke down the actual cost structure of selling A-grade durians, using the 101A variety as an example.
On the day she filmed the video, the durian’s auction price was RM28, but she ended up selling it for only RM25, sometimes even as low as RM20 — just to make a sale.
She stressed that this isn’t a case of her “cheap selling”, but a reflection of the brutal market reality.
Here’s how she broke down the real cost per kilogram:
- Purchase price for A-grade durian: RM20/kg
- Water loss (due to dehydration): At least 10%, equivalent to RM2/kg
- Labour costs: Around RM3/kg
- Transport and fuel: Roughly RM1/kg
- Total actual cost: RM25/kg
This means that even a single poor-quality durian or one that doesn’t sell on the same day results in immediate losses. Because durians are extremely perishable, unsold stock often has to be discarded the next day as customers only want freshly dropped fruit.
“The only way to profit is to cheat — but we won’t”
She pointed out that some sellers might pass off A-grade durians as lower-grade to make a margin — but her team deals in genuine, honest A-grade fruit and refuses to cut corners.
We’re not out to cheat anyone. But when the market price matches our total cost, we’re already bleeding money. People outside the industry don’t understand this pressure — only fellow sellers know that today’s market is nothing like it was 10 years ago.”
Behind the image of the durian as a “king of fruits” lies a harsh truth: the business is filled with risks, tight margins, and emotional stress.
She ended her post with a sobering reality check — “We’re just trying to break even now. The dream of making big money feels completely out of reach.”
Read the full post here:
