Durian Wholesale MOQ: How Much Do You Actually Need to Order?

You're ready to test durian with your customers, but the supplier is quoting full 20ft container loads at 18,000kg. That's over $500,000 of durian for Musang King. Do you really need to order that much? Can you start smaller to test demand before committing half a million dollars to frozen fruit inventory?

Here's the good news: you don't need full container orders to get started. Most suppliers offer sample orders, smaller commercial quantities, and even shared container options that let you test the market with manageable investment. The trick is understanding what MOQ (minimum order quantity) options exist at different supplier tiers and how to structure your buying progression as you scale from testing to regular importing.

The MOQ Landscape: What's Actually Available

Sample orders represent your entry point, typically 50-100kg minimum. This isn't a commercial order – it's product testing. You're verifying quality, checking customer response, and ensuring the supplier delivers what they promise before risking larger capital. Sample orders ship via air freight because quantities are too small for ocean containers.

Expect to pay $50-80/kg all-in for samples including air freight costs. Yes, that's 2-3x your eventual container pricing. The premium pays for air freight, small quantity handling, and the supplier's time dealing with a test order. View this as insurance – spending $3,000-5,000 on samples protects you from wasting $40,000+ on a full container of product you haven't verified.

Small wholesale orders run 500-1,000kg, roughly pallet quantities. Some suppliers accommodate these via shared containers or LCL (less than container load) consolidation. Pricing sits between sample rates and full container rates – maybe $35-45/kg depending on variety and supplier. Still premium pricing, but you're testing commercial viability with real quantities without full container commitment.

Standard wholesale orders hit 3,000-5,000kg, representing partial container loads or dedicated smaller reefer shipments. This is where pricing approaches normal wholesale rates – $28-38/kg for Musang King depending on season and supplier relationships. You're in commercial territory but not yet committing to full 18,000kg containers.

Full container loads are 18,000-20,000kg for standard 20ft reefer containers. This is where per-kilogram pricing hits its lowest – $25-35/kg for Musang King, $18-28/kg for Black Thorn, $8-15/kg for D24. The economics optimize at full container scale, but you need the capital, freezer capacity, and distribution capability to handle this volume.

Why MOQs Exist: The Economics Suppliers Face

Cold chain logistics create fixed costs that don't scale down proportionally with quantity. A reefer container to USA costs $6,000-9,000 whether it's half full or completely full. Suppliers can't offer 1,000kg orders at full container pricing when their freight cost per kilogram doubles for partial loads.

Processing batch economics favor larger runs. Setting up production lines, cleaning equipment between batches, and quality control procedures have fixed time and cost components. Processing 100kg costs almost as much in labor and overhead as processing 500kg. Suppliers need minimum quantities to make batch processing economically viable.

Supplier administrative costs are similar whether processing a 100kg order or a 5,000kg order. Documentation, export paperwork, quality certificates, and customer service time don't scale linearly with order size. Small orders consume disproportionate administrative resources, forcing higher per-unit pricing.

Cold storage allocation at origin also favors larger customers. Freezer space is valuable, and suppliers prioritize allocation to customers ordering regularly in commercial quantities. Small one-time buyers might face limited availability or longer lead times because suppliers focus capacity on major customers.

Understanding these supplier economics helps you negotiate realistic minimums and appreciate why small order premiums exist. You're not being gouged – you're paying the real incremental cost of small-scale logistics and handling.

Sample Order Strategy: Testing Before Committing

Almost every legitimate supplier allows 50-100kg sample orders even if their stated MOQ is much higher. This is industry standard because suppliers recognize buyers need to test quality before placing major orders. If a supplier refuses samples entirely and demands full container first orders, that's a red flag suggesting either inflexibility or questionable legitimacy.

Request samples of multiple varieties if you're unsure which to focus on. Order 30kg Musang King, 30kg Black Thorn, and 30kg D24 in one shipment. Test all three with your customers and see what gets the best response. This $4,000-5,000 investment tells you which variety to emphasize when scaling to larger orders.

Air freight timeline runs 3-7 days typically for samples versus 3-4 weeks for ocean containers. The speed lets you test quickly and make decisions without waiting a month for product arrival. Factor this timing advantage into your market testing strategy.

Sample orders also verify the supplier actually delivers as promised. Quality matches their claims? Packaging is professional? Communication was good throughout? Cold chain maintained properly? These questions get answered with samples before you risk $40,000 on a container order. View samples as supplier verification, not just product testing.

Scaling Up: The Smart Progression

Don't jump from 100kg samples straight to 18,000kg containers. Smart buyers scale progressively, reducing risk at each stage while building supplier relationships and market confidence.

Stage 1: Samples (50-100kg) – Test quality, verify supplier, gauge customer interest. Investment: $3,000-5,000. Timeline: Immediate. Purpose: Prove concept and verify supplier.

Stage 2: Test commercial order (500-1,000kg) – First real order at near-commercial pricing. Tests logistics, customer demand over weeks not days, and your operational handling of frozen inventory. Investment: $15,000-30,000. Timeline: Month 2-3. Purpose: Validate business model at small scale.

Stage 3: Regular orders (3,000-5,000kg) – If stage 2 sells through successfully, increase to quantities that get close to full container economics. Investment: $80,000-150,000. Timeline: Month 4-6. Purpose: Establish regular supply and build supplier relationship.

Stage 4: Full containers (18,000kg+) – Once you've proven consistent demand and operational capability. Investment: $450,000-600,000 for Musang King. Timeline: Month 6-12. Purpose: Optimize economics at scale.

This progression takes 6-12 months but dramatically reduces risk compared to betting everything on a full container from day one. Many failed durian importers skipped stages 1-3, ordered full containers on speculation, then couldn't move inventory fast enough before quality degradation occurred.

Shared Container Options

Some suppliers consolidate multiple buyers into single container shipments, allowing you to order 1,000-3,000kg instead of full 18,000kg. You pay slightly more per kilogram than full container pricing, but far less than air freight samples or LCL freight.

This works well for buyers who want to stock multiple varieties without committing to 18,000kg of a single type. Order 2,000kg Musang King, 1,500kg Black Thorn, and 1,500kg D24 in a shared container. You get variety coverage at near-container economics without tying up capital in 18,000kg of single variety.

Ask suppliers directly about shared container programs. Not all advertise this option, but many will accommodate it for established customers or during peak season when they're consolidating multiple orders anyway. The worst they can say is no – but many say yes if you ask.

When MOQ Negotiation Works (And When It Doesn't)

First-time buyers rarely get MOQ exceptions. Suppliers don't know you, don't know if you'll actually follow through, and can't afford to make exceptions for every inquiry they receive. Accept standard MOQs for initial orders and focus on proving yourself as a reliable customer.

After 2-3 successful orders, MOQ negotiation becomes possible. You've demonstrated you're serious, you pay on time, and you'll continue ordering. Now suppliers have incentive to accommodate slightly smaller orders or special requests because they want to maintain the relationship.

Long-term commitment opens negotiation opportunities. Offering to commit to 12 months of regular orders (even if each individual order is smaller than typical MOQ) gives suppliers predictable business that justifies flexibility on individual shipment minimums.

But be realistic about what's negotiable. You can't negotiate your way from 100kg samples straight to container pricing. The cost structure doesn't support it. Suppliers who agree to that are either losing money (unsustainable) or cutting corners somewhere else (quality risk). Focus on fair negotiation within economic reality.

The Freezer Capacity Question

Before worrying about supplier MOQs, confirm you can actually handle and store the quantities you're ordering. A 500kg durian order requires roughly 25-30 cubic feet of freezer space. That's 1-2 commercial chest freezers. Do you have that capacity?

Full container 18,000kg needs approximately 900-1,100 cubic feet of freezer space, depending on packaging efficiency. That's serious commercial cold storage, not something you accommodate with a couple freezers in your garage. Capital cost for freezer infrastructure can exceed $10,000-20,000 for container-scale storage.

Many small importers underestimate freezer requirements and end up with inventory they can't properly store. Product quality degrades, you're scrambling to sell faster than optimal, and margins suffer. Calculate your actual freezer capacity before committing to MOQs that exceed your storage capability.

The Bottom Line on MOQs

Durian wholesale MOQs range from 50kg samples (air freight premium pricing) to 18,000kg full containers (optimal economics). Most buyers should start with samples, progress to 500-1,000kg test orders, then scale to regular 3,000-5,000kg orders before attempting full containers.

Shared container programs let you access near-container pricing at 1,000-3,000kg quantities if suppliers offer them. Ask about this option explicitly – it's often available but not advertised.

Don't try to negotiate your way around economic reality on first orders. Pay the premium for samples, prove yourself as a customer, then negotiate better terms after establishing the relationship through 2-3 successful orders.

Match order quantities to your actual freezer capacity and capital availability. Ordering more than you can properly store and sell creates quality problems that cost more than any per-kilogram savings from larger orders.

Take Action

Start with sample orders to test quality and market demand before committing to container loads. Submit an RFQ on CommoditiesHub specifying your target quantity – whether samples, test orders, or full containers – and we'll connect you with suppliers who can accommodate your scale and growth trajectory.