Sharil Nizam prying open a Musang King durian at the press conference on the Asia Durian Summit 2024.
MORE than 30 tonnes of durian will be exhibited and sold during the three-day Asia Durian Summit 2024 in Gelang Patah, says Tourism Johor director Sharil Nizam Abdul Rahim.
He said the programme would also showcase 20 out of the 228 most famous durian species in the country, which include Musang King, Black Thorn, and IOI.
“We are proud to be the host for the second durian summit after Davao, the Philippines, in October last year.
“The event will be held from June 28 until June 30.
“Each day, there will be at least 10 tonnes of durian freshly picked from the neighbouring states such as Pahang and Negri Sembilan.
He said the durian would also be sold at a discounted price.
“The market price for Musang King is about RM70 per kg. At the summit, it will be priced as low as RM50 per kg,” he said during a press conference announcing the summit, held at the Johor Tourist Information Centre (Jotic) in Johor Baru.
Sharil Nizam said that a total of 150 durian exhibitors and experts from local and international associations would be participating in the event.
“One of the highlights of the event is the ‘eat all you can durian’ programme, where each visitor pays RM200 to eat all the durian they want within two hours,” he said, adding that more than 6,000 visitors were expected to join the event.
Sharil Nizam said Tourism Johor would also use this opportunity to strengthen bilateral tourism relationships between the participating countries.
“Besides Singapore and Brunei, there will also be durian experts from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
“We have also invited local farmers to learn about how durian is farmed and sold in each of these countries,” he added.
Sharil Nizam also revealed that Tourism Johor was planning to conduct international promotion for Visit Johor Year 2026 starting next year.
“If we look at other states, they have started their promotions at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin (Germany), London (UK), China, India and Kazakhstan.
“We are planning to do the same, which is why the Johor government has allocated RM67.6mil for this year’s budget to upgrade some of our tourism products, to be more of international standard,” he said.
Meanwhile, one of the main durian exhibitors, Tong Seng nursery owner Frankie Tong said Johor was the second largest producer of durian.
(Pahang is the largest durian producer in Malaysia).
“The districts in Johor with the highest numbers of durian plantations are Muar, Tangkak and Batu Pahat,” said Tong.
“The most sought-after durian in Johor is IOI, or D168 and D13; these two species are often bought by Singaporeans due to their sweet taste and strong aroma,” he added.
The durian summit will be held at the Forest City Sales Gallery in Gelang Patah from 8am to 4pm. Admission is free.
