The Funding Partners Develops World's First Luxury Durian Together With Newly Acquired Agritech Firm, Nikuro

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 14, 2018 (Newswire.com) - TFP is expecting their first harvest of luxury durians to arrive during Q3, 2018. An estimated 1000 tonnes of luxury durians will be delivered to dignitaries, celebrities, and businessmen who have placed orders for the renowned fruit before the start of the season.

Durians are a booming business in Malaysia. Farmers are eager to tap into the lucrative market which generated 1.97 billion Ringgit in sales last year. Although there is an extensive variety of durian being sold around the world, the ‘Musang King’ variety stands out with the highest demand due to its deep flavour. It is not surprising that growers go to great lengths to cultivate this prized fruit.

Durians are a booming business in Malaysia. Farmers are eager to tap into the lucrative market which generated 1.97 billion Ringgit in sales last year. Although there is an extensive variety of durian being sold around the world, the 'Musang King' variety stands out with the highest demand due to its deep flavour.

The desire to produce luxury fruits has become a global phenomenon, especially in Japan. As bizarre as it sounds, consumers are willing to pay a small fortune for a ‘designer fruit’, such as a square melon or a heart-shaped watermelon. According to the law of economics; where there is demand, there is supply.

CEO of TFP, Jim Edwards commented, “We are a big exporter of Malaysia’s durians and China is one of our main buyers. China durian imports have risen 26 percent annually and TFP has been ramping up production to meet their demand. We foresee a big supply gap once China opens their doors to fresh durians.”

Jim Edwards also said, “TFP has begun to venture into unique durian concepts that we believe could change the industry. We have dedicated tremendous resources to the development of technologically sophisticated plantations to grow luxury durians. We hope to open up a new market of durian connoisseurs.”

TFP’s cultivation of luxury durians started in 2014 after they acquired a Japanese agritech firm, Nikuro, which has 2 decades of experience in growing luxury fruits in Japan. They are expert growers of fruits such as Densuke watermelons, Sekai-Ichi apples, Yubari Cantaloupes and Migaki Ichigo strawberries.

After months of experimentation and fine-tuning, TFP and Nikuro managed to successfully combine traditional "Natural farming" techniques with the latest precision farming technology to create a unique durian farming process.

Each fruit is wrapped to protect against the elements and never comes into contact with chemicals or industrial fertilizers. The trees are thinned to produce lesser fruit and this ensures more nutrients will reach the remaining durians. Growing conditions are also closely monitored by sensors to maintain the ideal environment for the durian trees.

These methods combined with TFP’s latest agriculture technology, have transformed the traditional rural activity of durian planting into an artistic process.

Source: The Funding Partners