Durian sellers in Penang will now have to get a permit to sell their wares, The Star reported.

According to the report, the cost for getting the permit, having the council clean up the area and setting up the tents, can be between RM107 and RM307.

The cost will also depend on the size of the temporary shops.


Penang Island City councillor Wong Yuee Harng told the news portal that on top of getting a permit to run their durian business, there are also other rules that the traders need to adhere to.

For example, they need to adhere to the approved structure size, as well as hiring personnel to manage traffic, if the stall or shop obstructs the street.

Also, they are prohibited from hiring foreigners to man the stall and using polystyrene to pack or display the fruits.

How will this affect our love for durian?

The million dollar question now is this: will this new regulation increase the price of durians?

To get to the answer, we asked our friend from Durian King TTDI, Erik Ong, for his thoughts on this new regulation.

According to Ong, this new regulation is actually, well, not new.

"This has been a long standing regulation, but there are many out there who did not apply for this. Even here in Kuala Lumpur, we need to apply for a license with DBKL," he told Rojak Daily via text.

The reason that the permit is so important, according to Ong, is to ensure that durian traders are held accountable if they break the rules.

"They need to ensure that discards from the durian will be thrown away correctly and also to ensure there is no traffic congestion near or around their stall," he said.


Will the need to apply for a permit drive up the prices of durian then?

He said that the ruling should not affect the sellers much as the fee is not that high, and even if the traders decide to increase durian prices to offset the permit fee, it will not be by much.

When we asked him about the disparity between the prices of durian in Penang and in Kuala Lumpur, he revealed that durian prices in Penang are already significantly higher due to the tourism effect.

Well, let's hope that this new rule will not be used by unscrupulous traders to increase the prices unreasonably.