Durians have sold out at supermarkets following a flurry of media reports that the spiky South East Asian fruit is being sold at New Zealand supermarkets.
Prices for the fresh durians, imported from Thailand, range from around $90 to $120 each.
Pak’nSave Highland Park posted on Facebook that its supply of durian had “completely sold out”.
“You guys are amazing! Thank you for all the love and excitement,” it said on their post addressed to durian lovers.
“But don’t worry…this isn’t goodbye. We’ll keep you updated and let you know the moment the next batch arrives so you can enjoy that creamy, golden goodness again soon.”
Durian is considered by many to be “the king of fruits”, described as “tasting like heaven, but smells like hell”. Because of its smell, the fruit is banned on airlines, hotels and public transport.
While it has been available at Asian supermarkets in small quantities, they have been available at major supermarkets such as Pak’n Save and Costco since July.
Auckland’s Westgate has it on sale for $119.99, while the ones at Costco are priced at $99.99 per fruit. The cheapest has been at Pak’nSave Wairau Rd, on Auckland’s North Shore, where they are sold at $89.99 each.
David Chan, said he felt disappointed after failing to get durians from Pak’nSave Wairau Road.
“I managed to get one last week and that fruit weighed 2.6kg, so if you go by weight then it is not too expensive to pay $90 for a fresh durian that large,” Chan said.
Originally from Perak, Malaysia, Chan said he still preferred the Malaysian varieties of Musang King and Black Thorn, which were creamier, bitter sweet in taste, and more pungent.
“My dream is for Malaysian durians to one day become as widely available as these Thai durians,” he said.
Foodstuffs, whose brands include Pan’nSave, told Stuff that one of its importers had been bringing in shipments fortnightly from Thailand.
The $100 fruit that tastes great but (some say) can smell awful causing a stir in NZ supermarkets
“At this stage it’s very much a niche product, with only a handful of stores ... trialling them, but they’ve been proving popular with customers who are excited to see fresh durian available here,” a spokesperson said.
Bee Koh, co-founder of Chow Luck Club, told Stuff she grew up eating durians in Singapore.
“I grew up with durian trees. We just waited for them to drop and picked them up to eat,” she said.
Bee said it’s the first time she’s been aware of sizeable quantities of fresh durian being available in New Zealand.
Durians that were frozen - and sometimes then thawed out - were available from time to time, and frozen pulp could be bought here, as could durian desserts. Mooncakes made with durian were imported for the Chinese Moon Festival.
She has been in New Zealand for 26 years, and says she is excited to see durians for sale in mainstream supermarkets.
“We’re hoping to see more tropical fruits. It’s the thing we all miss,” Bee said.
Radio NZ described the current craze for durians in Auckland as a “phenomenon”.
