Over the past 7 months, durian exports to South Korea grew by nearly 200%.

According to data from the Customs Department, over the past 7 months, Vietnam's durian exports reached 1.8 billion USD, increasing up to 47% compared to the same period in 2025. China remains the main market with a value of 1.65 billion USD, an increase of 57%. Notably, South Korea increased by 188% compared to the same period in 2025, reaching a value of 2.4 million USD; ranking 8th and being the fastest-growing market.

Besides durian, South Korean consumers also greatly favor Vietnam's dragon fruit products. In 7 months, this market spent 10 million USD to purchase dragon fruit, up 22.5% compared to the same period last year, ranking 5th behind China, India, the US, and Thailand. With these figures, South Korea is currently Vietnam's 3rd largest consuming market with a value reaching 201 million USD and an increase of 10%, behind the US at 361 million with a 14% increase and China at 2.8 billion USD with a 33% increase.

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (VINAFRUIT), said that in 2025, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports to South Korea reached nearly 308 million USD, accounting for a 3.59% market share. In the first 7 months of 2026, the market share of South Korea increased to 4.2%. Although it is a potential market, the challenges are also large because South Korea has high requirements for quality.

Mr. Nguyen analyzed that, because climate change has affected domestic crop production in South Korea, this country's government has maintained a tendency to ease quotas and apply temporary preferential tariff rates to certain tropical fruits to stabilize consumer prices. Besides, enterprises of the 2 countries have taken good advantage of the tariff reduction schedule under the VKFTA (Vietnam - South Korea) and RCEP to accelerate trade activities. This is a significant competitive advantage for Vietnamese agricultural products compared to other competitors.

Another not insignificant advantage is that Vietnam possesses diverse sources of goods such as mangoes, bananas, and dragon fruit; deeply processed items including individually quick frozen passion fruit, soft dried fruit, canned vegetables, and processed chili which are already familiar to South Korean consumers. These products recorded good growth thanks to the convenience consumption trend of small South Korean households.

However, the challenge is also not small when South Korea thoroughly applies the PLS (Positive List System) mechanism - any active ingredient that does not have its own specified maximum residue limit (MRLs) will automatically be applied an extremely stringent default level (0.01mg/kg). This is the leading cause that puts many fresh shipments at risk. Alongside that are strict sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards. Accordingly, South Korea requires vapor heat treatment (VHT), irradiation, or quick freezing for each type of fresh fruit, requiring packing facilities and treatment treatment plants to be approved and periodically inspected by their side.

In addition, Vietnamese fruits and vegetables must compete directly on price and brand awareness with Thailand, the Philippines (for bananas and mangoes), and suppliers from South America.

Source: Bao Thanh Nien