A
rather expensive fruit
The
durian is becoming more and more an expensive fruit, even in the
Philippines. Not so long time ago, you could buy In Davao City, the
capital of Mindanao, a durian for the price of 50 pesos a piece. That is
about 1 US dollar. Nowadays it is being sold per kilo.
Native varieties cost from P35 to P65 per kilo, depending on the quality
and size of the fruit. The better qualities are being sold for even a
higher price. Varieties like "Mon thong" and "Channe" have a price from 80 to 120 pesos per kilo.
The "Durian
republic"
Southern Mindanao is
considered the "durian republic" in the Philippines. The durian fruit-tree is widely spread through Southeast Asia,
particularly in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. It is also an important
crop in Vietnam and Myanmar. In the Philippines, the durian-tree grows
almost exclusive on Mindanao. In the rest of the country the trees are
few.
The qualities of the
durian!
Durian is famous for
its odor. The opinions about the qualities of that odor are quite opposite! Most Asian people say that
the odor of the durian can be compared to a perfume. Other people,
especially foreigners, say that the fruit, when the skin of the fruit is
opened, stinks. "It smells like hell and tastes like
heaven", is how some foreigners describe the fruit. Listening to
foreigners, the conclusion can be as follows: "...you can
stand the taste of the durian fruit, but not the smell..."
No boarding-card for
the durian
Most
airlines don’t allow the durian fruit on board. In Singapore, the Asian
country with the most rigid policy and rules concerning the care
for the environment (in the Pacific
and probably in the world!), the durian is forbidden on subway-stations and trains.
One
historian declared: "To those who are used to it, at the first time
the durian fruit seems to smell like rotten onions, but after they have
tasted it, they prefer it to all other fruits."
Free
after the original source: "It's
Durian time again in Davao" By
Henry lito D. Tacio, the
Philippine Post, March 27, 2000
)