The single durian that sold for 1.5 million baht
Guinness World Records lists a Thai Kanyao as the costliest durian ever auctioned, though even its date differs between sources.
The most expensive durian in the Guinness World Records book did not come from Malaysia. It was a Kanyao, a Thai variety, sold for 1.5 million baht at the King of Durian festival in Nonthaburi in 2019. Guinness gives the value as about US$47,784 in its entry text, and credits Maliwan Han Chai Thai, Pa Toi Lung Mu farm and the festival.
The details vary slightly by source. Guinness dates the sale to 7 June 2019, while Mothership, in a report published on 5 June that year, two days before the Guinness date, places the auction on 1 June. Mothership also put the price at around S$65,221.
Mothership's account, drawing on Yahoo and the South China Morning Post, says the fruit had been hand-picked from the orchard the day before and was chosen for its size, shape and ripeness. It beat the previous year's high of 800,000 baht. The auction as a whole raised 4.5 million baht, with most of the money going to farmers and a smaller part to charity.
A festival auction price says little about what a durian costs at a stall. The contrast was sharp in June 2026, when a Straits Times headline reported durians in Malaysia selling for as little as 16 cents each during a glut. We did not find a comparable Malaysian auction record on a page we could open.
Sources
- Record price, record holders, location and listed date
- 1 June 2019 date, previous record, total proceeds, selection details
- Headline on 16-cent durians during the 2026 glut