The document discusses opportunities for differentiating and adding value to the durian crop through geographical indications. It notes that while durian is an iconic Southeast Asian fruit, current commodity approaches focus on mass production of undifferentiated durian. The author argues that emulating the wine industry by developing geographical indications linked to local product qualities could help specialty durian farmers benefit from value chain development and add value while protecting growers. The document outlines opportunities and needs for assisting durian growing communities to substantiate geographical indication submissions and organizational structures to maintain geographical indications.
High-value differentiation of durian: Are we missing an opportunity
1. High-value differentiation of durian:
Are we missing an opportunity?
Khoo Teng Kew
5th International Symposium on Tropical and Subtropical Fruits
Guangzhou, China
18-20 June 2012
1
2. Outline
• Crops for the Future – Who we are?
• Diversity of Genus: Durio
• Durian Consumption Trends
• Geographical Indications
– A value-creation tool
2
3. Crops for the Future (CFF)
• Global partnership organization to foster
enhanced collaboration amongst R&D
stakeholders of underutilized crops
• Established in 2009 through the merger of
ICUC1 and GFU2
• Operating out of Malaysia
• Co-hosted by Bioversity International and
the University of Nottingham, Malaysia
Campus
• Core funding from DFID/UK
1 International Center for Underutilized Crops
2 Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Crops 3
5. Export Value Chain
• Unique selling point: Aroma and taste
• Value: USD 0.50 - 10.00 per kg
• Most planted fruit tree in Malaysia *
• Export value: USD 5.6 million (2010) *
• Farmers: 45,502 (2010) *
• Production: 300,470 t (2010) *
• Net profit: approximately USD 1 per kg
* Statistics in Malaysia
Source: Department of Agriculture, Malaysia
5
6. Acreage, Production & Value of Durian in Malaysia
400000 500
Production (t) 450
350000
Left-axis - Acreage & Production
400
Right-axis - Value of Durian
300000
350
250000
300
200000 Value (mil. USD) 250
200
150000
Acreage (Ha) 150
100000
100
50000
50
0 0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Acreage (Ha) 110615 105388 99408 96762 88719 104655
Production (t) 378657 292681 312157 277767 278076 300470
Value (mil. USD) 267 306 381 432 429 464
Source: Department of Agriculture, Malaysia
6
19. Commodity
Mindset
The various cultivars of
Durio zibethinus 19
20. Geographical Indications (GI)
• An indication which identifies any good as
originating in a locality (country or territory)
• A given quality, reputation or other
characteristic of a good attributable to their
geographical origin
20
21. Components of Quality
Management
Diversity
• Inter-specific & intra-
specific
Geographical
Indications
Post-harvest Management Environmental
• Harvest date & methods • Climate
• Maturity • Soil
• Pest & disease incidence
• Handling & storage conditions
21
22. Problems with Durian
• So much diversity, but not used
• Commodity approach - Mass production of
an undifferentiated product
• Unsubstantiated “quality” claims
• Insufficient quality differentiation
• Lack of durian flavour vocabulary
22
23. Durian Preference
Durian Consumption in Thailand
Consume Do Not Consume
28%
72%
Source: Tiyaratanakura (1991)
• 51% of those who do not consume
said they dislike the strong aroma
• Monthong variety preferred due to its
milder aroma for the 72% 23
24. Durian Preference
Durian Preference in Malaysia
Village Durian Released Varieties No Preference
40% 49%
11%
Source: Rozhan (2006)
• Majority whom have no preference
ages below 20 years old
24
27. Missing an Opportunity?
• An emblematic product of Southeast Asian
countries
• Emerging connoisseurship of this fruit
• However, currently there is very little
understanding how genotype, environment
and crop management interact to result in
durian quality
• Emulate the wine industry such as the
branding of local product qualities, and the
use of geographical indications to add value as
well as protecting growers from disloyal
competition 27
29. Opportunities and Needs
• How can indigenous producers benefit
from value chain development of specialty
durian?
• Assist communities with technical product
dossiers required to substantiate GI
submissions to the state
• Assist communities with setting up of
organizational and administrative
structures to maintain and defend GI
• Assess the appropriateness of national GI
legislation and, if necessary, propose
legislative changes to accommodate poor
farmer needs 29
30. Collaboration
• CFF is in the process of developing a
project by looking into the opportunity of
using GI as a value-creation tool for durian
in the Southeast Asian region
Khoo Teng Kew
t.khoo@cropsforthefuture.org
Thank You!
www.CropsfortheFuture.org
30
31. Literature
• Nanthachai, S. Durian – Fruit development, postharvest
physiology, handling and marketing in ASEAN. Published by: ASEAN Food
Handling Bureau
• Salma, I. 2011.Durio of Malaysia. Published by: Malaysian Agricultural
Research and Development Institute (MARDI)
• Rozhan, A.D. 2006. The consumers’ preference for durian in Malaysia.
Economic and Technology Management Review. 1(1): 37-49
• Tiyaratanakura, P. 1991. Thai consumers desire in consuming durian (Durio
zibethinus Murr.). Undergraduate Special Problem. Department of
Horticulture, Kasetart University Bangkok
• MARDI (2012) [Online]. [Accessed 11 June 2012]. Available from World
Wide Web: http://www.mardi.gov.my/
• Department of Agriculture (2012) [Online]. [Accessed 11 June 2012].
Available from World Wide Web: http://www.doa.gov.my/
• MSN (2012) [Online]. [Accessed 11 June 2012]. Available from World Wide
Web: http://news.malaysia.msn.com/weird-news/article.aspx?cp-
documentid=4218898
31
32. The Need for Collective Action
• We are a dispersed community, fragmented by
our crop and institutional mandates, yet have
common goals
• We are perceived as peripheral to the agricultural
agenda
• We don’t speak with a global voice such as the
CGIAR
• We are not heard by funders, policy makers and
in global debates about food, sustainable
agriculture, climate change
• We need more national champions and senior
mentors for young NUS scientists
• We need synergies for generating evidence to
support our global agenda 32
33. Our Goals
1. Facilitate access to knowledge on
NUS, through web
portal, monographs, synthesis papers, and
databases, especially in the areas of
production, sustained market access, nutritional
security
2. Provide information services to NUS
stakeholders (grant and training
opportunities, library resources)
3. Engage in policy to promote the use of NUS
(market access barriers, IAR, GFAR)
4. Increase awareness on the potential and
contributions of NUS for livelihoods
(conferences, review papers, press articles) 33
34. CFF’s working definition of
“neglected and underutilized species” (NUS)
• Farmed or gathered on a small scale
• Unrealized potential for contributing to food
security and nutrition
• Often linked to the cultural and culinary
heritage of their place of origin, and maintained
by poor, often indigenous farmers
• Distribution, biology, cultivation and uses are
poorly known and documented
• Receive little attention from research, policy
makers, donors and technology providers
• Informal seed systems
• Several hundred species!
34
Notas do Editor
Thank You for the kind introduction Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, part of my presentation would be somewhat similar to that of Frank Lam’s and Dr. Nordin’s.I will be talking about quality differentiation and the following is my presentation outline.
Crops for the Future or CFF in short.We are an international organization that aims to foster enhanced collaboration amongst R&D stakeholders of underutilized crops.CFF was established in 2009 through the merger of Global Facilitation Unit and International Center for Underutilized Crops.We are operating out of Malaysia, being co-hosted by Bioversity International and the University of Nottingham.Our funding comes mainly from DFID, UK.
Durian trees are tall trees – growing up to 25–50 metres in height and have large leaves that are evergreen.[CLICK] The flowers and fruits are seasonal and usually produced between one or two times per year, on the tree branches itself [CLICK].The fruit can grow up to 30 centimetres long and 15 cm in diameter, and typically weighs 1 to 3 kilograms.Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale-yellow to red, depending on the species.
Durian’s unique selling point is its aroma and taste.Its smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust.There is even a popular saying that describe durian to: “Taste like heaven, but smell like hell”.The selling price ranges from 50 cents to 10 dollars per kilogram. The average selling price is estimated at 3 dollars per kg.From the Malaysian aspect, durian is the most planted fruit tree in Malaysia.Its export reaches 5.6 million US dollars and involves 45.5 thousand farmers. The production recorded in year 2010 was at 300.5 thousand tonne.The net profit after deducting the cost of production such as manpower, fertilizer, and pesticides is estimated at 1 dollar per kilogram.
As mentioned in the previous slide, durian is the most planted fruit tree in Malaysia – accounting for 105 thousand hectares.As noted in the [BLUE]line, there has been a drop in plantation acreage until 2009. The drop could possibly due to farmers being attracted by the more lucrative palm oil crop and high infestation rate of Phytophthorapest. Even so, the production has been maintained throughout the year as since in the [RED] horizontal line that goes sideway.The rise in 2010 might be due to the higher selling price and the opening of trade to China market.The [GREEN] line shows that prices have been going up steadily over the years.
Depicted here is how petty traders (sometimes the farmer himself) sell durian along the road side. The durians sold vary from released cultivars to village durians, and some wild durians.
More established traders sell their durian in hypermarkets or shopping malls where younger generation of people frequent the place more often.
Durian is cultivated primarily in South-East Asian countries namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines; and strectches out to Sri Lanka, India, Indochina, New Guinea and even tropical Australia.
The durian is a tropical Malvales order, in the Bombaceaefamily and genus Durio which has 30 species.Of the 30, only 9 produce fruits which are edible as depicted here.Duriozibethinus is the only species commercially cultivated on a large scale and available outside of its native region as shown in the previous map.The remaining are:Duriodulcis, Duriograveolens, Duriokutejensis.
Duriodulcis is distributed only in Borneo – Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei.It has got dense thorns and can be easily recognizable via its red-colored husk.Ecology: On the ridge and crest of sandstone hill forests up to 100 m altitude.
Duriograveolens is distributed in both Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.Its uniqueness is its flesh color that ranges from vivid red, to orange, to bright yellow.Ecology: In primary forest on flat land and low ridge-tops up to 300 m altitude.
Duriokutejensis is endemic to Borneo – Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, Kalimantan.The fruit of Duriokutejensis has got no odor.Ecology: Mixed dipterocarp forest on undulating land and low ridges.
Duriolowianus is distributed only in PeninsularMalaysia, Sumatra.Ecology: Primary forest on flat land to shallow hill slopes up to 100 m altitude.
Duriooxleyanus is distributed in both Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo, Sumatra.It has dense, sharp and long thorns; with its fruit heavily scented.Ecology: Dipterocarp forest on low land or on hillslopes to hilltops at 854 m altitude.
Duriotestudinarum is endemic only to Borneo.It is the only species that bear fruits on the base of its trunk instead of the usual tall tree branches.Ecology: In primary forest on hillslopes up to 213 m altitude on brownish soil.
And finally, Duriozibethinus, the common durian is distributed by far the widest area, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Burma, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Australia.Ecology: Lowlands to hill slopes up to 100 m altitude. Cultivated or found in primary and secondary forests.
Despite the many Duriospecies diversity shown in the previous slides, we instead placed heavy emphasis on a commodityapproach.This picture itself shows the various cultivars of a single species of durian: Duriozibethinus, where the most popular cultivar is the D24 .Due to this mass production approach, everything looks uniform = diversity not utilized.
How could we use Geographical Indications as a value-creation tool for durian?Firstly, what is GI? GI is an indication which identifies any good as originating in a locality, be it country or territory.It is a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of a good attributable to their geographical origin.Popular products that benefited from GI – Wine & Champagne, Cheese in Western countries;and for the Malaysian market are Sarawak Pepper, Bario Rice.
The problem with durian is that we have so much diversity, but they are not being exploited, resulting in an “underutilized” situation despite it being the largest plantation acreage fruit tree.The commodity approach we undertook led to the mass production of an undifferentiated product.In addition, the high number of unsubstantiated “quality” claims that states Penang – an island located in the north of Peninsular Malaysia, produces the best durians due to its fertile hill soil, temperature and rainfall; have to be debunked.The insufficient quality differentiation resulted in confusion among durian consumers and even connoisseurs.Therefore, there is a need to establish a specific vocabulary to describe durian flavours.
A survey on durian consumption in Thailand shows that a big majority of the population do indeed consume durian.Out of the 28% who do not consume, 51% linked the strong aroma of durian as their hindrance factor.The Monthong variety was preferred due to its milder aroma.
Contrastingly, Malaysians have a high preference for the stronger scented village durians as indicated by the [BLUE] coloured pie chart.40% of the population surveyed said they have no preference, majority of whom made up of people ages below 20 years old.Therefore, it is important to establish GIs for durian:– To raise consumer awareness and allow them freedom of choice. For example, beginners can start with the Monthong variety which has lesser scent and gradually move on to village durian, or perhaps even wild durians.– There is also a need to educate younger generations of consumer into becoming connoisseurship of durian, by raising their awareness level on the existence of other varieties of durian and its specific taste and aroma.
The number of products made from durian are not limited.Tempoyak in the bottom-right corner is a fermented durian, equivalent to the cheese found in Europe countries, thus has the potential of becoming a GI product belonging to Southeast Asian countries.Lempuk or durian cake, dodol, srikaya are other products made from durian.
There is even a presence of Western influence, whereby durian is incorporated with cocoa to produce durian chocolate.The minimally processed durian, a packaging method developed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute allows durian to be stored for up to 3 weeks,thus enabling durian exportation by ship to China and Hong Kong, thereby reducing the transportation cost and lowering the final selling price.
Durian has the potential of becoming an emblematic product of Southeast Asian countries.There is an emerging connoisseurship of this fruit, as seen in a past news article of a billionaire in Macau who sent his private jet to specially purchase durian from Singapore to treat his friends.However, currently there is very little understanding how genotype, environment and crop management interact to result in durian quality. Therefore, we need to reprioritize our R&D effort and focus more into this area.Durian could emulate the wine industry such as the branding of local product qualities, and the use of geographical indications to add value as well as protecting growers from disloyal competition.
The mentioned news article.
Seeing that the native or indigenous people are the custodians of these durian germplasms, we can benefit them by developing value chain of specialty durian.We can assist them with technical product dossiers required to substantiate GI submissions to the state.Assist them with the setting up of organizational and administrative structures to maintain and defend GI, andAssess the appropriateness of national GI legislation and, if necessary, propose legislative changes to accommodate poor farmer needs.
CFF is in the process of developing a project by looking into the opportunity of using GI as a value-creation tool for durian in the Southeast Asian regionPlease feel free to contact me if you are interested in this collaborative opportunity.Thank You for your attention!