When Exactly Is Durian Season?
Before the current millennia of the 2000s, durian seasons used to be predictable and only widely available in a few months of the year.
But as agricultural techniques have improved coupled with modern horticultural technologies, durians are pretty much available throughout the year.
However, there are noticeable low and high seasons where supply tend to drop and spike.
And even if you don’t track these changes in supply, the odds are that you would notice the low periods when durians stalls are selling fruits instead of durians. And get wind of the peak seasons when almost every fruit stall you come across are selling the king of fruits… with prices that seem to be lower that what you expect.
The main season is typically at the middle of the year commencing in May/June and can last to August, sometimes even flowing in September. The secondary season at the end of the year with much less varieties typically starts in October/November and runs to January/February.
With that said the annual durian season can generally be illustrated in the below schedule.
Month | Supply | Popular Harvest |
January | Average | MSW, D24 |
February | Average | MSW, D24 |
March | Average | – |
April | Low | – |
May | Average | MSW, D1, D13 |
June | High | MSW, D13, D17, Golden Phoenix |
July | High | MSW, Red Prawn, Black Thorn |
August | WTF High | MSW, D24, Tekka |
September | High | MSW, D13, D24 |
October | Low | – |
November | Average | MSW, D13, D24, Black Thorn |
December | OMG High | MSW, D13, D24 |
It must be said that while the above information of the durian seasons is credible, weather patterns and changes can heavily influence the harvesting of durian trees during the year.
Unusual hot weather for example, has been observed to speed up the ripening process of the fruit itself. Thus, resulting in earlier or higher harvest.
And because of climate and monsoon, Pahang usually enjoys the earliest harvest of the Musang King (MSW).
The 3 main Malaysian states that produce the most durians are Johor, Pahang and Penang. And because their peak seasons do not run parallel to each other, the supply as a whole, can sometimes enjoy an extended peak season that lasts for months.
At the same time, it has been observed in some previous years where the peak season for the year was totally out of whack compared to the year before.
The gist of all these is that we cannot pinpoint these information. But because of the diverse harvesting periods in different farms, one would most probably be able to find durians to satisfy the cravings as long as there is determination to do so no matter what month it is.