Malaysian durian farmers say that mining is destroying arable land and tainting the water they need to irrigate their crops. Farmers from the major growing state Pahang plan to spend nearly two weeks marching over 250 kilometers to parliament in Kuala Lumpur to protest the impact of bauxite mining on the output of the spiky fruit.
Parts of Pahang have been transformed over the last few years by a mining boom to feed China's appetite for bauxite. There has been a public outcry over environmental damage, however, with mining blamed for polluting land and turning waters red near the state capital Kuantan.
That has piled pressure on the government, prompting it to impose a three-month ban on bauxite mining in early January, but durian growers such as Che Long Che Ali fear what will happen when the moratorium is lifted on April 15.
"My durian trees didn't fruit last year," Che Long said, with the march expected to begin around the middle of next month.
After Thailand, Malaysia is the world's No.2 producer of durian. Malaysia's durian industry is not huge - government figures show 2014 frozen shipments to China were worth just over $1.2 million - but the crop is a source of national pride.
Koh Yen Boon, a durian seller in Kuantan, said his sales volume dropped by about 30 percent last year due to lower output, driven by environmental damage and as more land was given over to mining.
The Malaysian Nature Society also said that land used for mining would likely become infertile due to heavy-metal contamination, meaning rehabilitation for agriculture would be long and expensive.
Bauxite mining in Kuantan boomed over the last two years as China shifted its sourcing of the material to Malaysia after former top supplier Indonesia banned exports.
Despite calls from residents and environmentalists to bring mining in Kuantan to a complete halt, mining industry officials expect activity to resume after the three-month ban.
