Not only China, customers in Thailand and Cambodia are increasing their imports of Vietnamese durian. This item continues to be a bright spot in fruit and vegetable exports.

China is the top buyer of Vietnamese durian

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, in the first 6 months of this year, durian exports reached 1.32 billion USD, an increase of 44.5% over the same period in 2023. China is still the most important market with 1.22 billion USD, an increase of nearly 46% over the same period last year.

China still accounts for 92% of the total durian export turnover of our country. Vietnam's durian exports from 2022 to now have recorded a "boom" equal to many years combined, reaching a turnover of 2.3 billion USD in 2023.

However, the "boom" in durian exports has also caused this industry to face many problems that threaten sustainable development. Recently, the General Department of Customs of China announced that it will ban the import of durian from 18 growing areas and 15 packing facilities in Vietnam due to the discovery of "heavy metal" residues exceeding the permitted level. Meanwhile, Vietnamese durian will also face competitive pressure with Malaysian durian, as this country is licensed to export fresh durian to China for the first time.

In recent years, global demand for durian has increased by 400%, mainly due to increased purchasing power from China. It is forecasted that demand for durian from China could increase 15 times in the future.

Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam - Deputy Director of the Vietnam SPS Office - said that when exporting to China, fresh durian from Vietnam must comply with laws, regulations and standards related to food hygiene and safety of China; must not have pesticide residues exceeding the permitted level; durian growing areas and packaging facilities must have appropriate management measures to eliminate pests of concern to you, especially fruit flies and mealybugs (6 species); harvest at the right ripeness, ensuring quality; follow proper packaging specifications and information on packaging to ensure traceability; growing areas and packaging facilities must be supervised under the guidance of trained technical staff to control the entire production and packaging process.

"Businesses, people and agencies need to meet the requirements of the Protocol, focusing on controlling food safety and quarantine objects, complying with requirements for managing growing area codes, packing facility codes and requirements for logs, production records as well as food safety monitoring programs before harvest," said Mr. Nam.

According to the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the demand for processed durian in China is increasing rapidly due to the high price of fresh durian and the difficulty of access for many consumers. Developing processed durian products is an important strategy to increase market share in this market.

Thai people have spent up to 47 million USD to import Vietnamese durian

Thais spent up to 47 million USD to import Vietnamese durian, an increase of 90.5% compared to the same period in 2023. From a competitor, why did the neighbor spend a lot of money to import something "that at one time only Vietnam had in the world"?

Regarding this, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - informed that Thailand is not only the world's leading agricultural country but also a competitor of Vietnam in exporting fruits and vegetables. Currently, Thailand spends a lot of money to buy Vietnamese agricultural products. "In the first 6 months of the year, this market spent 97 million USD to buy Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, nearly double the same period last year," said Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen.

Topping the import list is frozen durian, not fresh durian because this country strictly controls plant quarantine, fearing pathogens if buying whole durian.

Next, Thailand buys dragon fruit, longan, and lychee from Vietnam. Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports to Thailand are currently higher than Vietnam's total fruit and vegetable exports to all other countries in ASEAN.

According to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, Thailand has a very short durian season, only 4 months. Vietnamese durian is year-round. And due to the severe drought that has caused this country's durian to decrease in both quantity and quality, they have to import it to serve domestic and tourist demand.

In addition, Thai people mainly import frozen durian from Vietnam to re-export to a third country to enjoy the price difference and partly to serve the processing of confectionery products.

According to Mr. Nguyen, if Vietnam soon signs the Protocol on exporting frozen durian to the Chinese market, it will open up great opportunities for this industry. This is also what farmers and businesses are waiting for.

Cambodia's import of Vietnamese durian increased 230 times

Most notably, in the list of 10 markets importing the most Vietnamese durian, Cambodia is the one to be mentioned. With a turnover of nearly 1.7 million USD, an increase of 223 times compared to the previous year, Cambodia is ranked 9th, above South Korea at 1.4 million USD, an increase of 61.5%. Above Cambodia is Japan with 2.7 million USD, an increase of 106%. Contrary to the above trend, the US market reached 7.8 million USD, down 43%, ranked 5th and Taiwan reached 11.5 million USD, down 0.8%, ranked 4th.

Currently, durian in the Southeast is entering the final stage of the season while the Central Highlands will start in August. At this stage, the decrease in durian output has slowed down the export growth rate of the fruit and vegetable industry.

Recently, due to limited output, durian prices have increased by 20 - 30% compared to about a month ago. According to many traders, Dona grade 1 durian costs over VND100,000/kg, the lowest bulk price is VND80,000/kg; Ri6 is about VND70,000 - 80,000/kg, the bulk price is from VND45,000 - 55,000/kg. Currently, traders and businesses are actively preparing for the peak harvest of durian in the Central Highlands, which will begin in about 10 days.

"In 2023, Vietnam's durian exports will reach their highest value in September and October, with a value of nearly half a billion USD per month," said Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen.

According to the assessment of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, durian exports will continue to grow strongly in 2024. However, besides opportunities, there are many challenges and risks in the production chain of this billion-dollar product.

Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam said that on June 19, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 534/QD-TTg approving the Project "Improving the effectiveness of the implementation of the Agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) of the World Trade Organization and SPS commitments within the framework of Free Trade Agreements".

Currently, the Vietnam SPS Office is consulting agencies and units inside and outside the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to complete the draft plan of the Ministry to implement Decision No. 534/QD-TTg. Durian will be one of the agricultural products of interest in the implementation plan of the Project. “We must abandon the short-term mindset, and reduce the benefits within the production chain to achieve sustainable development,” Mr. Nam emphasized.

Source: Cong Thuong Newspaper