Pekanbaru's durian draws tourists

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

For some people, durian is an absolute favorite, but many people hate it due to its overpowering aroma.

But in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau, durian is an attraction for both local or foreign tourists, mostly Singaporeans. Durian lovers only need to walk along the sidewalks of Jl. Sudirman in Tangkerang area, where dozens of stalls offer the fruit.

One of the durian sellers, Rizal, was seen ordering his six employees to select durian which had just arrived from Bangka Belitung province. Large, good-quality durians were later seen displayed on the racks to attract buyers.

Customers dropping by the stalls can enjoy peeled durians of their choice at the available tables. Some consumers prefer to eat durian by itself but others prefer to consume it with glutinous rice and lemang (steamed grated cassava and coconut with palm sugar).

"Of course the price is different if the consumers ask for lemang and glutinous rice," said Rizal.

Each durian is currently offered at between Rp 16,000 (US$1.9) and Rp 23,000, which is quite expensive since it is not the harvest time in Riau. Consumers will be charged an additional Rp 2,500 if they ask for glutinous rice and lemang.

Rizal and other durian sellers expect the durian harvest time in Riau, West Sumatra and North Sumatra to come soon, hence bringing down the price of durian. When the harvest time comes in those three provinces, a big and tasty durian is sold for only Rp 7,500.

To maintain quality, vendors like Rizal only sell fresh fruit.

"If any consumers find the durian unpalatable, a new portion will be served without extra payment. This is to guarantee customer satisfaction," he said.

Durian at the stalls will be sold to open-air sidewalk sellers like Udin if they are not sold on the very same day.

"Unlike the durian stalls, we don't provide seats and tables for our consumers. We only serve passing buyers," said Udin, who usually opens his stand from 4 p.m. until midnight.

The price at the stalls is a little bit higher than sidewalk sellers.

But the leftovers can also be cooked into lempok (candied durian) and tempoyak (a salty condiment made of fermented durian).

"By cooking lempok and tempoyak, we can get extra income. They're both delicious. Many Jakartans order my tempoyak," Rizal's wife, Wati, said proudly.

Wati also collects durian seeds to be sold to farmers outside Pekanbaru. A sack of around 3,000 seeds is sold at Rp 15,000.

"Farmers use local durian seeds to grow crops by crossbreeding them with Bangkok varieties to make the fruit tastier and harvest earlier," she said.

People may ask how is it that durian is always available in Pekanbaru, even when it is not harvest time in the province.

The answer is the durian sellers' network throughout Sumatra island.

Rizal said that durian agents in various provinces would notify him when the harvest time comes in their areas.

"We actually 'hunt' for durian from Aceh to Lampung because consumer demand in Pekanbaru is very high," he said.

To transport durian from other provinces, Rizal deploys his two pickups and six employees. The employees will spend two days to buy durians from nearby provinces like West or North Sumatra.

"If they buy durian in Bengkulu or Lampung, they will have to spend several more days," Rizal said.

Instead of surveying various provinces, Rizal only needs to call durian agents before ordering his employees to transport the fruits.

"In selling durian, just like any other business, it's very important to keep good relationships and communication with agents in various provinces," he said.

Despite the existing business network, Rizal still surveys other areas famous for durian, which are not included in his network.

"It's hard to survey durian in strange places. We must spend extra time, money and energy. If we're lucky, we can buy big and tasty durians. But if we're not, we go home empty-handed," he said.

One of Rizal's employees, Pardomuan, said he and other employees were often chased by groups of thugs when transporting durians

However, such a risk must be faced in order to fulfill the high demand for the fruit in Pekanbaru.