The durian fruit is an incredibly tasty fruit with one downside: it smells absolutely horrendous, and several countries in Asia import and export it, specifically China. But with recent climate changes, this fruit supply is crashing down quickly. 

Jebsen & Jessen Technology Turf & Irrigation said that there will be an impact on this year’s fruit market.

“Farmers across the country report smaller fruits, reduced sweetness, and declining overall yields, threatening their profits and Thailand’s leadership in the global durian market,” Jebsen and Jessen said.

Durians need constant water to survive, as their roots are very shallow.  An excessive large or little amount of water could kill the plant. So as you can imagine, it is difficult to raise them. But for a time, it had a lucrative reward, as durian fruits sold for 5-15$ each, and could sell for millions, even billions in export. 

Now, with the climate changing, floods and droughts are far more common and it can damage these crops far easier than it should. Several crop yields have been destroyed by floods, and it has severely impacted the price, inflating it upwards of 20% more than last year.

Retail news.asia said that some orchards were hit by floods, and has impacted them badly.

“According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, several delta orchards were severely affected by floods a few months ago and are still in recovery. High export demand is also contributing to the strain on supply,” Retail news.asia said.

If this continues, the durian fruit may inflate even more, and people might not buy them. This could severely affect the farmers, as these fruits are their money makers. If they fail, then they might have to forgo farming. 

This could pose as an ominous foreshadowing of other crops around the world, as floods and droughts could easily impact their crops as easily as it did the durians. Other countries have experienced their crops having issues as well, further imposing the idea that crops may be in way more danger than it seems.

The future may get better yet however, as new methods are being tested for irrigation, and other ways to keep these fruits alive. Drip irrigation is one, and is used by pipes to transfer water directly to a plant’s roots. This is effective as it negates the amount of water used, and helps with the sun evaporating some of the water when used on soil.