Is it still durian season? Checked 20 September, the answer at the specialists is still no, and what is left has got sharply more expensive in eight days. Durian Delivery has put $6/kg on every fresh line, taking its 800g Pahang Mao Shan Wang box from $60.80 to $80. Durian 36 has added a third $2/kg rise, to $28/kg. Black Thorn is the exception: it held at $21/kg, so at $67.20 for 800g it is now $12.80 cheaper than the plain Mao Shan Wang box at the same seller, a reversal of the usual premium. Fresh Durian has emptied out, with its own Mao Shan Wang ($52) and eight other lines all sold out, leaving Pahang Old Tree MSW at $55 as its last fresh box. 99 Old Trees has not moved, every variety still Season Ended. Here is our guide to the 6 types of durian in Singapore: what each tastes like, which you can still buy this week, when durian season ends, and the per-kg trap that turns $25/kg into $80 a box.
Singapore's fresh durian season is still closed at the specialists, and what is left has got sharply dearer in the past week.
> Quick view, 20 Sep 2026: The cheapest 800g Mao Shan Wang box is now $80 at Durian Delivery, up from $60.80 in eight days. Black Thorn held at $67.20, so it is now the cheaper premium pick. 99 Old Trees is still Season Ended.
If you try one durian this season, make it Mao Shan Wang (MSW). It's prized for its thick, golden, custard-like flesh with a complex bittersweet, almost boozy finish that is rich and lingering. It's the most sought-after (and usually priciest) common variety, so expect to pay a premium, and prices swing a lot with supply through the season. Look for deep-yellow flesh and a heady aroma. Best for: durian die-hards who want the full-on, intense experience. AVAILABILITY (20 Sep 2026): still the variety you can most easily buy, and now the dearest it has been all season. 99 Old Trees keeps MSW [D197] on Season Ended, so its $88 per 750g box cannot be ordered and even its frozen 450g box ($53) is walk-in only. Delivery is where MSW lives, and it has risen a fourth time: Durian Delivery has taken its 800g Pahang MSW box from $60.80 to $80.00 ($19/kg to $25/kg), and Durian 36 now lists fresh MSW at $28/kg, which its own checkout prices at $89.60 for 800g and $67.20 for 600g. Fresh Durian's own Mao Shan Wang ($52) has sold out, leaving only its Pahang Old Tree MSW at $55. The cheapest 800g MSW box anywhere we checked is Durian Delivery's $80.00, and its vacuum-packed frozen Penang MSW at $55 undercuts every fresh box by at least $25.
Photo: 99 Old Trees
Before MSW took the crown, D24 was the benchmark. It delivers a balanced bittersweet flavour and creamy texture at a friendlier price than MSW, which makes it the smart-value pick for most people. Flesh is pale-to-golden yellow. Best for: anyone who wants a proper, satisfying durian without paying top dollar, or a good 'reference' durian to compare the others against. AVAILABILITY (20 Sep 2026): season ended at the specialists, but the cheap online D24 has come back. 99 Old Trees still prints Sultan King (D24) at $48 per 750g and still marks it Season Ended, and Fresh Durian's XO D24 ($36) is sold out. Durian 36's D24 at $16/kg, which read Sold Out on 12 September, is orderable again. It is still flagged "only available after 7pm onwards" and now offers the 600g box only, at $38.40. That makes it the joint-cheapest fresh durian on its board and the best value in this guide, as long as you can order in the evening. Street stalls remain the other option.
Photo: 99 Old Trees
Named for its orange-tinged flesh, Red Prawn is sweeter and less bitter than MSW, with a soft, creamy, almost melt-in-the-mouth texture. It's an easy crowd-pleaser and a great 'gateway' durian for those who find MSW too intense. Best for: people who prefer sweet over bitter, kids trying durian, and sharing with a group. AVAILABILITY (20 Sep 2026): finished as a fresh buy, and unchanged from last week. 99 Old Trees marks Red Prawn D175 ($57 per 750g) Season Ended, Fresh Durian's King Red Prawn 800g box ($80) is sold out, and Durian 36 has not relisted the D13 Red Prawn it ran out of in early September. Frozen is the only way left to taste it, and it is also the only Red Prawn price that has not moved: Durian Delivery sells a vacuum-packed Milky Red Prawn 800g pack at $40, the same as a week ago.
Photo: 99 Old Trees
Black Thorn is the premium challenger to MSW: exceptionally smooth, creamy and intensely flavoured, with a small seed and a lot of flesh. It's less common and typically commands a high price when available. If you've done MSW and want to level up, this is the splurge. Best for: serious durian lovers chasing the smoothest, richest bite, when your wallet allows. AVAILABILITY (20 Sep 2026): in stock, and now cheaper than Mao Shan Wang, which is the biggest change on this list. 99 Old Trees still marks Black Thorn D200 ($88 per 750g) Season Ended and Fresh Durian's Penang Black Thorn ($100) is still sold out. But Durian Delivery has Black Thorn from Gua Musang in stock at $67.20 for 800g ($21/kg), exactly what it cost a week ago, while every other fresh line there went up $6/kg. So the same-size Mao Shan Wang box now costs $80, making Black Thorn $12.80 cheaper and the cheapest fresh box on that board; on 12 September it was $6.40 more. Durian 36 lists it at $28/kg, level with its MSW, so the inversion is Durian Delivery's alone.
Photo: 99 Old Trees
Golden Phoenix has paler, slightly watery-looking flesh but a surprisingly sharp, bittersweet kick and tiny seeds (so more flesh per bite). It has a loyal following among those who like a lighter texture with a strong finish. Best for: fans of a bitter, aromatic profile who don't mind a less creamy texture. AVAILABILITY (20 Sep 2026): finished, and still the hardest of the six to find. 99 Old Trees marks Jinfeng D198 ($63 per 750g) Season Ended and its frozen Jinfeng is sold out as well, while Fresh Durian's Golden Phoenix 800g box ($85.80) remains sold out. No seller we checked has it fresh, and nothing has changed here in eight days. A street stall is the only realistic chance.
Photo: 99 Old Trees
Not every durian run needs to be a premium one. D13 and unbranded 'kampung' durians are the everyday, budget-friendly options: sweet, fuss-free and easy on the wallet, often sold in value boxes or bundles during peak season. Best for: casual snacking, big sharing sessions, and getting your durian fix without overspending. AVAILABILITY (20 Sep 2026): the budget tier is the one part of the board that got better. Durian 36 still lists Hulu Wang at $16/kg, in stock, and the D24 ($16/kg) and XO ($18/kg) that both read Sold Out on 12 September are orderable again, still evening-only. That is three lines at $16 to $18/kg where a week ago there was one, and all three are well under half the $28/kg Mao Shan Wang rate. The three lines that sold out in early September (Hock Beng D13 at $18/kg, D13 Red Prawn and Ganghai at $17/kg) stay delisted, and 99 Old Trees marks its own D13 ($55 per 750g) Season Ended. Street stalls are still the fallback.
Photo: 99 Old Trees
The main season is still closed at the specialists, and the fresh durian that is left has got sharply more expensive in eight days. The premium order has also flipped: Black Thorn held its rate while Mao Shan Wang rose, so at one seller the splurge variety is now the cheaper box.
> Heads up on prices: durian rates swing day to day with supply, so the figures here are the sellers' published rates on 20 September, not fixed prices. Always ask the stall for the day's rate, and have it weighed, before they husk it.
With fresh Mao Shan Wang at $80 and up for an 800g box, frozen has quietly become the value play, and one fresh variety now undercuts the king outright:
| What you want | Cheapest option, 20 Sep 2026 | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh Mao Shan Wang, 800g | Durian Delivery, Pahang MSW | $80.00 ($25/kg) |
| Any fresh premium box, 800g | Durian Delivery, Gua Musang Black Thorn | $67.20 ($21/kg) |
| Mao Shan Wang flesh, any temperature | Durian Delivery, frozen Penang MSW 800g | $55.00 |
| Cheapest fresh durian by the kilo | Durian 36, Hulu Wang or D24 | $16/kg |
| Smallest fresh MSW box | Fresh Durian, Pahang Old Tree MSW 400g | $55.00 |
Frozen Penang MSW at $55 is $25 less than the cheapest fresh MSW box and $34.60 less than Durian 36's 800g box, and it is the one part of the board that did not rise this week.
An advertised per-kg rate is for the whole, un-husked fruit, not the flesh you eat, and roughly three-quarters of a durian's weight is husk and seed. Three sellers now publish the arithmetic themselves:
So the only honest comparison is box against box, never badge against badge. On that basis Durian Delivery's $80 Mao Shan Wang box beats Durian 36's $89.60 for the same 800g, even though Durian 36's shelf price reads "$28".
Prices move daily with supply, so use this as a rough guide and always confirm the day's rate at the stall:
The main mid-year season runs roughly June to August 2026, this year ran slightly past that, and it closed at the specialists on 12 September and has not reopened. It ended variety by variety rather than all at once:
Nearly all of it comes up from Malaysia, and the regions peak at different times, which is why supply wobbles mid-season:
| Region | Typical window | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Johor | ~June to July | Closest, floods the market first; finished early in 2026 |
| Pahang (Raub, Bentong) | ~late June to early September | Source of the August restock; ran out on cue, and 99 Old Trees closed its fresh season on 12 September |
| Penang | ~June to August | The name to look for on Black Thorn |
| Betong, S. Thailand | ~July to September | Later window; Thai-grown MSW appears when Malaysian stock is thin |
Windows shift by a few weeks each year with the weather.
*Durian seasonality, variety availability and prices vary with the harvest and supply and can change daily. Confirm at the stall before buying. Tasting notes are general guides; individual fruit varies. Cover image: 99 Old Trees official Black Thorn durian photograph (99oldtrees.com); item photos are illustrative.*
Still not at the specialists. Checked 20 September 2026, 99 Old Trees has not reopened anything: every one of its fresh varieties still reads "Season Ended", and there is no line badged "In Season" anywhere on its site. Mao Shan Wang [D197] at S$88 per 750g reads Season Ended alongside Black Thorn [D200] S$88, Tian Xiang, Tekka [D160] S$72, Jinfeng S$63, Johor XO S$59, Ganghai S$59, Black Pearl S$59, Red Prawn [D175] S$57, D88 S$56, S17 S$55, D13 S$55, Bola [D199] S$53, Celestial S$53, Kasap Merah S$52 and Sultan King (D24) S$48. Its header still reads "Season Ended ... Chilled and Frozen Durians Available ... Walk-in Purchase Only", and its frozen MSW 450g box at S$53 is still walk-in only. Fresh durian is still sold, just not by the shop that calls the season per variety, and the choice has narrowed since last week: Durian 36 and Durian Delivery Singapore both have the Mao Shan Wang family and Black Thorn in stock, but Fresh Durian is down to a single fresh line, its Pahang Old Tree MSW at S$55. Royal Durian is still sold out of fresh Mao Shan Wang.
It has ended, and eight days on it has stayed ended. Singapore's main mid-year season runs roughly June to August, 2026 ran a little past that, and the clearest answer on the record is the one the specialists give themselves. Through August and into early September, 99 Old Trees headed its homepage with "Pahang season now, till early September" and badged Mao Shan Wang in season. By 12 September that line was gone, the header read "Season Ended ... Chilled and Frozen Durians Available ... Walk-in Purchase Only", and every fresh variety read Season Ended. Checked again on 20 September, nothing has reopened. The seller kept to its own deadline almost to the day. Timing follows the Malaysian harvests: Johor finished in July, a small Pahang harvest restocked the market in August, and that supply has run out. What this does not mean is that durian is unbuyable. Frozen and chilled durian is sold year-round, Durian 36 and Durian Delivery source out of season from their own plantations and still have the Mao Shan Wang family and Black Thorn in stock at higher prices, and Malaysia usually produces a smaller second wave around November to December.
Rates move daily, so treat these as ballpark, and the direction is firmly up. Through the June glut a bumper Malaysian crop pushed Mao Shan Wang to roughly S$20/kg; Johor's finish squeezed supply in late July; the August Pahang restock cut prices twice, down to S$22/kg at Durian 36 on 20 August. It has risen three times since. Verified 20 September 2026, Durian 36 lists fresh MSW at S$28/kg, Black Gold MSW S$30/kg, Old Tree MSW S$32/kg, Raja Kunyit Gua Musang S$34/kg and Black Thorn S$28/kg. Its cheap lines have recovered: Hulu Wang holds at S$16/kg and is joined again by D24 at S$16/kg and XO at S$18/kg, both back in stock and both sold after 7pm only. Durian Delivery Singapore moved in one step instead, adding S$6/kg to its whole fresh board between 12 and 20 September: the 800g Pahang Mao Shan Wang box is now S$80.00 (S$25/kg), up from S$60.80, Pahang Old Tree MSW S$86.40, Pahang Signature Black Gold S$92.80, Penang Old Tree MSW S$99.20 and Penang Signature Black Gold S$105.60. It left only Gua Musang Black Thorn alone, at S$67.20 (S$21/kg), which now makes Black Thorn the cheapest fresh box it sells. Fresh Durian has all but sold out: only Pahang Old Tree MSW at S$55 still adds to cart, its own MSW (S$52), Pahang Black Gold (S$58), Signature Black Gold (S$62), Raja Kunyit (S$62), Penang Black Thorn (S$100), XO D24 (S$36), King Red Prawn (S$80) and Golden Phoenix (S$85.80) all read Out of Stock, and its 35% code FD35%DIS26 with free delivery above S$100 is unchanged. 99 Old Trees still prints S$88 for its 750g de-husked MSW box, but every fresh line there is Season Ended, so that price is not orderable. Frozen split two ways: Durian Delivery held flat at S$55 for 800g Penang MSW, S$70 Black Thorn and S$40 Milky Red Prawn, while Durian 36 added S$2/kg, to S$70.40 for 800g MSW, S$76.80 for Black Gold and Black Thorn and S$83.20 for Old Tree MSW. Street stalls usually undercut delivery rates.
Because a per-kg rate is quoted for the WHOLE, un-husked fruit, not for the flesh you eat. Roughly three-quarters of a durian's weight is husk and seed. Durian 36 now spells the arithmetic out on every product page: "Each package contains 600g of pure durian pulp, taken from about 2.4kg of whole durian (with husk) ... For 800g, made from approximately 3.2kg of husked durian." Its checkout prices it exactly that way, so Mao Shan Wang at S$28/kg comes to S$67.20 for a 600g box and S$89.60 for 800g, and Old Tree MSW at S$32/kg to S$76.80 and S$102.40. Durian Delivery Singapore shows the same ratio on its price list, where every per-kg badge times 3.2 is exactly the box price: S$25/kg gives the S$80.00 Pahang Mao Shan Wang box, S$21/kg the S$67.20 Black Thorn and S$33/kg the S$105.60 Penang Signature Black Gold. 99 Old Trees puts this season's average flesh weight at 26 to 27% of gross whole-fruit weight, about 3kg of fruit for 800g of flesh. This is the single biggest reason a stall bill lands higher than people expect, and it is also why you should compare box against box rather than badge against badge: Durian 36's S$28 badge looks cheaper than Durian Delivery's S$80 box, but the same 800g costs S$89.60 there. Ask the stall for the day's per-kg rate, watch the fruit weighed before it is husked, and treat the per-kg figure as the price of the whole thorny thing.
No. It fell twice in August and has risen three times since. When Johor's harvest tapered off in July, sellers warned the press that prices would only climb; that was wrong at the time, because the small Pahang harvest arrived, stock came back, and Durian 36 cut its whole board twice, taking fresh Mao Shan Wang from S$28 to S$26 and then to S$22/kg. Those cuts have been given back with interest. Durian 36 added S$2/kg on 2 September, another on 12 September and another by 20 September, so fresh MSW is S$28/kg, a 27% rise in a month and back above where it started. Durian Delivery has taken its 800g MSW box from S$51.20 to S$60.80 to S$80.00 over the same stretch. With 99 Old Trees still closed for fresh durian and Fresh Durian down to one line, the supply side of any price cut has gone, so expect firmer prices and thinner choice rather than another drop. Two things are genuinely cheaper than last week, though: Durian 36's D24 and XO are back in stock at S$16 and S$18/kg after 7pm, and Gua Musang Black Thorn at Durian Delivery held at S$67.20 while Mao Shan Wang went to S$80, so it is now the cheaper premium box. If you want a spread of varieties for a durian party, that window closed weeks ago.
A few practical tips: (1) Buy from a stall with high turnover, so the stock is fresher. (2) Ask for the price per kg AND watch it weighed before it's husked, so you know the cost upfront. (3) A good durian usually has a strong aroma and a stem that looks fresh, not dried out. (4) Most reputable stalls will let you 'see flesh' or open it on the spot and will replace a bad one, so confirm their policy first. (5) Prices move daily with supply, so a rate that looks high one week can drop the next. Late in the season, when choice is thin, be extra wary of a stall pushing an unnamed 'kampung' fruit at a premium price.
Almost everything sold here is trucked in from Malaysia, and the growing regions peak at slightly different times, which is why supply can wobble mid-season even when the calendar says peak. Johor is the closest and usually floods the market first, roughly June into July; it finished early this year, which caused the late-July squeeze. Pahang, especially the Raub and Bentong areas, runs later and delivered the August harvest that restocked stalls. 99 Old Trees dated that Pahang supply as running till early September, and closed its own fresh season on schedule: by 12 September every variety on its site read Season Ended. Penang has its own June to August window and is the name to look for on Black Thorn. Betong in southern Thailand harvests later still, broadly July to September, which is why Thai-grown Musang King sometimes appears when Malaysian supply is thin. As for the next durian season: after the mid-year run closes, Malaysia normally produces a smaller second wave around November to December, with fewer varieties, higher prices and less predictable timing than mid-year. Frozen and chilled durian bridges the gap all year.
They're both premium, but they're after different things. Mao Shan Wang is the more intense fruit: thick golden flesh, a complex bittersweet, almost boozy finish, and a long lingering aftertaste. It is the benchmark most Singaporeans judge durian by. Black Thorn (Ochee) trades some of that bitterness for texture. It is exceptionally smooth and creamy, sweeter and rounder on the palate, with a notably small seed and a high flesh-to-husk ratio. On price the answer has now flipped. At Durian Delivery, Gua Musang Black Thorn held at S$21/kg, S$67.20 for 800g, while every other fresh line there took a S$6/kg rise, so the same-size Mao Shan Wang box went to S$80.00. Black Thorn is therefore S$12.80 CHEAPER than Mao Shan Wang at that seller, where on 12 September it cost S$6.40 more, and it is the cheapest fresh box on the board. At Durian 36 the two remain level at S$28/kg, so the inversion is Durian Delivery's alone. On availability, 99 Old Trees marks Black Thorn Season Ended and Fresh Durian's Penang Black Thorn (S$100) is sold out, so Durian Delivery is where you buy it. If you are choosing for a group that includes durian newcomers, Black Thorn is both the easier sell and, right now, the cheaper one.
