Pay RM95 per kg for off season dabai in Sibu

Off-season dabai selling for RM95 per kilo at Sibu Central Market.

SIBU (Aug 5): Dabai, the prized seasonal delicacy native to Borneo, is currently selling for RM95 a kilogramme here.

Exorbitant and hard to believe but dabai lovers are still snapping up the fruit despite the hefty price tag.

The seasonal fruit of the Canarium odontophyllum tree is prized for its glossy black fruit with yellow flesh which are soaked in warm water and eaten with salt or soy sauce as part of a meal or a savoury snack.

After photos of the exorbitant price went viral, Utusan Borneo surveyed Sibu Central Market here.

A trader, who declined to be named, attributed the selling price to the fruit being off-season.

“When demand is more than supply, obviously the price shoots up,” he said, referring to fruits being sold as ‘strays’ from trees bearing fruits when it is not in season.

“Dabai only comes aplenty in December which is dabai season. Prices would be much cheaper, about RM20 to RM30 per kg depending on quality,” said the trader who was also surprised to receive the fruit from a supplier a week ago.

“I was told that the dabai comes from Kanowit,” he revealed.

Priced at RM60 to RM95 per kg, the trader described sales as ‘good’, with only a couple of kg left for the day and no guarantee of supply the next day.

Two other traders at the market were also selling dabai, albeit in smaller quantities.

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3Jz4wRi
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