Rambutan is one of the fruits that marks the turn of the rainy season. The hairy red shells — the name comes from the Malay rambut, meaning hair — start appearing in roadside stalls around August, and by September they are stacked in palengkes across Laguna, Zamboanga and Davao. This section brings together rambutan postings from Filipino growers, backyard farmers and traders, so you can see who is selling, at what price per kilo, and where the fruit was picked before you contact anyone.
Maharlika — the best-known Philippine selection, with deep red skin, long soft spines and flesh that pulls cleanly off the seed.
Rongrien — a Thai variety widely planted here, usually sweeter and firmer, with shorter spines and a darker shell.
Seematjan and Silengkeng — older introduced varieties still grown in some orchards, often smaller and more acidic.
Sold loose or on the twig — clusters still attached to the branch keep better and are common in bulk lots.
A large share of people looking for rambutan are not buying fruit at all — they are looking to plant. Postings for rambutan seeds, seedlings and young trees turn up alongside the fruit, and the two markets run on different calendars: planting stock moves at the start of the rainy season, fruit moves at harvest.
If you are planting, the variety matters more than the price. Seed-grown rambutan takes several years to bear and does not come true to its parent, so most orchards plant grafted or marcotted seedlings instead — you get the variety you paid for and fruit years sooner. Rambutan also produces male and female trees, which is why grafted stock from a known mother tree is the safer buy for anyone planting more than one.
Browse what is currently listed under Plants and Seeds, and ask the seller about the variety, the age of the stock and whether it is grafted or seed-grown before ordering.
Rambutan season runs from around August to October, with the heaviest volume in September and some late fruit into November. That window is when listings are most plentiful and prices per kilo are at their lowest. Outside it, postings thin out and what remains is usually cold-stored or from a second, lighter flush — worth asking any seller when the fruit was harvested.
Calauan in Laguna is the best-known rambutan town in the country and holds a rambutan festival each August. Zamboanga and the Davao region supply much of the Mindanao crop, and smaller volumes come out of Oriental Mindoro, Batangas, Sorsogon and Bohol. Because the fruit bruises and dries out quickly once picked, most sellers work within a day or two of harvest, which is why the province a listing comes from matters as much as the price.
They belong to the same family and get mixed up constantly. Rambutan has a leathery red shell covered in soft, hair-like spines, and is the largest of the three. Lychee has a thinner, bumpy pink-red shell with no spines and a more floral, perfumed flesh. Longan is the smallest, with a smooth tan shell and a muskier sweetness. All three peel to a translucent white flesh around a single seed — but rambutan is the one that grows widely in the Philippines, while lychee and longan are mostly imported or grown here in small volumes.
Rambutan is mostly water and natural sugar, which is why it is eaten fresh and chilled rather than cooked. It is a good source of vitamin C and provides some fibre, copper and manganese, with a modest calorie count for its size. The seed is not eaten raw. Beyond eating it out of hand, the flesh turns up in fruit salads, sorbetes, jams and preserves, and in syrup for canning.
Households buying a few kilos during the season
Fruit stall owners and retailers buying by the box or sack
Juice bars, dessert shops and restaurants working it into salads, sorbetes and preserves
Pasalubong sellers and resellers moving volume through the peak weeks
Backyard growers and small orchards buying seeds, seedlings or grafted stock
FarmyHub is the marketplace, not the farm. Each listing is posted by the grower, trader or seller themselves, with their own price, quantity and location. Browse what is currently posted, compare prices per kilo across sellers, then message whoever fits and agree on quantity, pickup or delivery directly with them. Before committing to a large order, ask about the variety, the harvest date and the size grading — all three move the price.
Browse more Philippine fruit in Fruits, Vegetables & Growables, or see what else is in season alongside rambutan: Lanzones, Durian, Banana, Pineapple and Avocado.
Rambutan is the English name — there is no separate English word for it, which is why the question comes up so often. The name was borrowed straight from the Malay rambut, meaning hair, after the soft spines covering the shell. It is called rambutan in Filipino too. Informally it is sometimes described as a hairy lychee, since the two are closely related, but rambutan is the correct name in both languages.
Nephelium lappaceum, in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) — the same family as lychee and longan.
Roughly August to October, peaking in September, with late fruit sometimes running into November.
It moves with the season and the variety, dropping through the September peak and rising sharply once supply tightens. Prices here are set by each seller, so compare the current listings rather than working from a fixed figure.
No — they are relatives, not the same fruit. Rambutan is larger with a hairy red shell; lychee is smaller with a bumpy, spineless pink shell and a more perfumed flavour.
You can, but seed-grown trees take several years to fruit and do not come true to variety. Most growers plant grafted or marcotted seedlings instead — see Plants and Seeds.
