Smelly fruit on sale in Indonesia for three times average monthly wage
The J-Queen durian fruit costs the equivalent of £750 which is more than three times the average monthly salary in Indonesia.
Tuesday 29 January 2019 12:50, UK
A rare type of durian fruit, known for its pungent aroma, has gone on sale in Indonesia for three times the average monthly salary.
The J-Queen variety of the smelly fruit is on sale in West Java, and costs 14m rupiah each - about £750.
According to the manpower ministry, the average monthly wage in the region is about 4m, putting it at more than triple the average salary.
CNN reports that the J-Queen variety is a hybrid of several high quality types of durian fruits, created by a 32-year-old psychology student from Yogyakarta.
Aka claims the fruit of his plant is so pricey because it only produces 20 fruit every three years.
He told Kompas.com: "The J Queen Durian is fruitful in the tree every three years. Each tree only produces at most 20 fruits. This durian tree is the only one I have and [it has] not [been] traded."
The taste has been described as buttery and peanutty.
The rare fruit even beat the Mussang King variety of durian in a taste test.
According to Coconuts Jakarta, a blog in Indonesia, the expensive fruit quickly went viral and people even queued up to take a selfie with it.
The blog reports two of the four dorian on sale at the Plaza Asia shopping centre have now been sold.