The naturally and organically grown rambutans are finally fruiting productively this season after a long hiatus. There are only 3 rambutan trees at the farm; one yellow and two reds. They were aggressively pruned about 3-4 years ago and have not been fruiting much until now, especially the red ones.
I was told the red rambutan is the “Anak Sekolah” variant but I’m not too sure about that with all the conflicting views from various parties. All I know is that the rambutans from the farm is super sweet, succulent and comes with really good firm texture.
These are naturally and organically grown red and yellow rambutans in the best of environment to my best ability without the use of chemical fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. As these are premium naturally grown rambutans, they are being sold at RM 12/kg to quite a number of discerning customers. I’m also selling it via the TTDI Edible Community Garden apart from direct deliveries to certain areas in Petaling Jaya.
However, due to an oversupply in production surpassing demand, I had no choice but to drop the price to RM 9/kg for direct sales, whilst relinquishing balance stock via the fruit trader’s route. The latter is an undesirable but necessary means to offload surpluses and recoup some of my cost. Undesirable because of the low prices offered.
The fruit traders around Mantin and Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan are only offering about RM 2 – 2.50/kg. Even then, they have stopped taking from farmers as I was told there is an overabundance of rambutan stock with a very soft demand. I have no choice but to resort to selling to fruit traders at the Subang Jaya area who are buying from me at between RM 3.50 – 4.50 per kilogram. Unfortunately, they have no regard as to the premium quality of the rambutans and they will be sold alongside others, which are not necessarily “naturally” grown. Therein lies the importance of knowing and supporting your sustainable farmer.
I was even told by one of the fruit traders that incoming rambutan stocks from Thailand in a couple of weeks time will be half the price of local rambutans, bigger in size, but not necessarily as tasty as the local versions. However, due to their really cheap price, consumers do buy them. Unfortunately, these are sprayed with chemicals and they can last up till 5 days. Therefore, discerning customers can and should vote with their wallet by supporting local healthy produce from known sustainable sources.
It’s unnerving to know that even local fruits which are often regarded as unfavourable or “inferior” compared to imported fruits, are also sprayed with chemicals to preserve their shelf life or boost productivity. It’s high time natural farmers come together to champion for naturally and organically grown local fruits and not kowtow to price wars, the “cheap” products of which may not necessarily be cheap, given all the numerous hidden costs they come with.
More importantly, local fruits are equally as tasty and packed full of vitamins and minerals that can easily rival those of imported ones if not better, in terms of nutritional quality. Supporting organically and naturally grown local fruits like rambutans, mangoes, mangosteens, durians, pulasan and duku langsat will certainly help cut down our food miles and carbon emissions.
