by Jakkrit Waewkraihong, Bangkok Post
A 35-year old durian tree in Muang district has yielded 221 fruit with a combined weight of 599 kilogrammes this year, but still well behind the record 900kgs the tree produced last year.
Banjong Boonvathee, 32, the orchard’s owner, said his Mon Thong durian was part of an experimental field used by the provincial agricultural office to compile harvest statistics.
He said it took him about one hour to harvest all the fruit from this single tree. They were sold at 125 baht (USD 3.55) a kilo, for a gross return of more than 74,000 baht (USD 2101.59) from this tree.
Last year, he harvested a total of 224 fruit weighing more than 900kgs, which he sold for more than 100,000 baht (USD 2839.98).
The durian this year was not as heavy as last year because there had been two large storms that reduced the average weight.
Mr Banjong said CP Group had already bought all durian from his orchard in tambon Huay Nam Khao, where durians could be harvested earlier than in other areas. Early fruit fetched a higher price.
Currently, the farm-gate price of Mon Thong durian is 120-150 baht (USD 3.41 – USD 4.26) /kg, and the market price around 180 baht (USD 5.11). Mr Banjong said he normally earns more than 10 million baht (USD 284050.800) from each harvest.
Source: Bangkok Post