Last week I got a call from a hotel procurement guy in KL. He wanted 200kg of dabai paste. Wanted it in three weeks. I had to be honest with him: we had stock, but just barely. Another two weeks earlier in the season, that call would have been very different.
That call reminded me that a lot of buyers still do not fully understand how dabai season works. So let me explain it properly.
What Is Dabai, and Why Does It Have a Season?
Dabai (Canarium odontophyllum) is a small, dark olive-like fruit native to Borneo. People call it the Sarawak olive. It is not cultivated on plantations the way oil palm is. Most dabai trees grow semi-wild, deep upriver, tended by longhouse communities along the Rejang river.
Because of that, dabai follows nature's schedule. Not ours.
There Are Actually Two Dabai Seasons
Most people only know about one. There are actually two.
The small season falls around July to August. Volume is lighter, but the fruit is there if you know who to call upriver.
The main season runs from December to February. This is the bigger harvest. More volume comes down from Ulu Kanowit, Ngemah, Song, and Julau. This is when we process the bulk of our paste stock for the year.
Knowing this helps buyers plan better. If you missed the small season, the main season is your main window. Do not wait until March and then wonder why we are short.
Why Supply Can Change Week to Week
A few things drive the fluctuation that buyers feel at our end.
- How dabai gets to Sibu. Farmers from upriver communities transport their harvest by road and by private vehicle arrangements down to Sibu market. It is not a fixed logistics system. It depends on individual farmers, timing, and load size. Some weeks the volume is strong. Some weeks it trickles in.
- Short shelf life of fresh dabai. Fresh fruit lasts maybe two to three days without proper handling. So farmers harvest in batches. Supply to Sibu comes in waves, not one steady flow.
- How the trees behave that year. Dabai trees do not all fruit at the same time or with the same intensity every year. Think of it like a mango tree at home. Some years it gives you a lot of fruit. Some years, almost none, for no obvious reason. Dabai trees across different areas, Ngemah, Song, Julau, can each have their own good year or bad year. We source from multiple upriver areas to even things out, but we cannot control what the trees decide to do.
- Competing demand from the fresh market. Right now, SFE is the only producer making dabai in paste form commercially. But fresh dabai is very popular locally. During harvest season, fresh dabai sells fast in Sibu pasar (market). We are competing with everyday consumers and direct buyers for the same fruit coming down from upriver. When fresh demand is strong, the price and availability at source tightens for everyone.
How Paste Processing Helps Buyers Plan Better
This is why dabai paste exists, honestly. Not just for convenience, but for supply continuity.
When fresh dabai comes in during harvest, we process and pack it into paste form immediately. That paste can be refrigerated or frozen, giving bakeries, cafes, and food processors a usable window of months rather than days.
At SFE, we process in batches tied to harvest volume. We do not manufacture to order outside of season. What we have is what came in during the season. So buyers who lock in orders during the main season get better access than those who come asking in April.
One thing I want to be clear about: our paste price stays stable throughout the year. Whether you order in January during main season or in September between seasons, the price does not change on our end. We absorb the sourcing variability so you do not have to deal with fluctuating costs in your own planning.
What Buyers Should Do With This Information
If dabai paste is part of your product line, plan your annual volume ahead of the main December season. Even a rough estimate helps us reserve capacity for you. We would rather hold stock for a committed buyer than scramble in February.
If you are testing dabai paste for the first time, smaller trial orders are fine during either season. Just do not wait until March and expect the same availability.
If you have questions about current stock or this season's outlook, WhatsApp me directly. I check messages myself. People call me Budak Dabai for a reason, and it is not because I hire someone else to talk about dabai.
— Budak Dabai, Sarawak Fruit Enterprise