20 durians grown on mountain fetch over THB500,000 at charity auction
One fruit fetches THB33,000 bid in fundraising for Chiang Mai hospital
A total of 20 durians grown on a mountain in Chiang Mai province, where mineral water is used to irrigate the trees, fetched 514,999 baht in a charity auction on Saturday.
The most expensive fruit during the auction to raise funds for the Mae On district hospital on Saturday went for 33,000 baht, according to Sihadej Jiajessada, president of the Rak Lanna Tour Guide Club and vice president of the Federation of Professional Tourist Guide of Thailand (northern chapter).
The auction was held at the Mae On Hospital to raise funds for buying medical equipment.
Sihadej, who owns the orchard on a mountain, put up 20 “mon thong” durians from his orchard for auction.
He said it was the third year that he had auctioned durians from his orchard to raise funds for charity.
He said durians at his orchard had a special flavour because they were irrigated with mineral water and the trees grew about 780 metres above the median sea level.
During the auction, Sihadej brought just one durian in the AAA size as an sample for bidders to see. The 20 auctioned durians were not ripe yet and were still being cared for on their trees. Sihadej presented only their photos and number codes for bidders to see.
Sihadej said the owner of Standard Tour Co Ltd paid the highest price of 33,000 baht for a durian during the auction while Gems Gallery Chiang Mai paid 55,000 for two durians. The shop also donated 45,000 baht for the hospital.
Sihadej said the event raised 514,999 baht for the hospital.
