Durian skins, seeds selling fast abroad

GERIK - Durian skins and seeds from 'Musang King' and ‘Black Thorn’ breed which is widely planted in Pengkalan Hulu has been reprocessed with some of it imported to foreign countries.

Pengkalan Hulu State Assemblyman Datuk Aznel Ibrahim said the process started two years ago to fulfill the demands of animal feed and cosmetic production in Thailand.

"I have discussed with the Veterinary Service Department on ways to generate income from the durian skins and based on the research done, they found that durian skins were suitable to be used as food for cows.

"For durian seeds, there is a high demand from Thailand and we managed to get an export permit to the country," he said when met in Pengkalan Hulu carnival and 'Jom Makan Musang King' event at Arena Square in Pengkalan Hulu here on Sunday.

Aznel said so far three collection centres had been created for this purpose which wee Kampung Tasek, Kelian Intan and Pengkalan Hulu.

He said through the collection centres, durian tree entrepreneurs would send durian skins and seeds for first stage processing before being sent to the certain area.

"For now, durian skins were sent to Perlis to be made as cow feed, while durian seeds are exported to Thailand for processing and used in cosmetics such as powders and face wash," he explained.

He added the demands were high for the two sectors which eventually helped local people who cultivated durian to extra income.

"For example, durian seeds in market price reaches RM8 per kilogram and during the fruit season, all three collection centres collected about 100 tonnes of durian seeds a day," he said.