Malaysia’s durian growers say they are in “survival mode” as an early bumper harvest collides with a surge in fuel and freight costs, squeezing an export trade built around getting premium fruit into China fast.

Hot weather has brought harvests forward, swelling supply just as exporters face higher packaging, energy and transport costs, with the Iran war disrupting fuel supplies and making cargo more expensive.

The strain is exposing the vulnerability of Malaysia’s durian industry, which has built its model around quality, branding and tightly managed cold-chain logistics rather than the volumes shipped by regional rivals.

For farmers like Stephen Chow, the bigger harvest expected in the coming weeks is forcing a rethink of the supply chain at the worst possible moment.

Chow is the director of Chow Kai Pheng Enterprise, which exports durian from his 25-acre farm in Pahang to China and Hong Kong. He said growers were now cutting costs and reducing wastage simply to stay afloat.

He said packaging and logistics had previously accounted for about 20 per cent of export revenue, but in recent weeks he had been bracing for that share to rise to as much as 50 per cent.