The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said that 2023 is forecast to be an optimistic year for the export of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable industry. Demand from the Chinese market can help durian bring in one billion USD this year.
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), said that 2023 is forecast to be an optimistic year for Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports.
“If this year, durian export turnover reaches 1 billion USD, it certainly contributes to the total export turnover of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable industry about 4 billion USD. These are relative predictions that we are likely to achieve, ” Mr. Nguyen said.
Durian is heading to billion-dollar export sales.
Analyzing this assumption, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen said that Vietnamese durian has many competitive advantages when entering the Chinese market.
The first advantage is the distance of transportation. In Vietnam, after being harvested, durian is transported to the northern border gate and it takes one and a half days to the Chinese market (after China reopens completely and removes the Zero Covid policy). Meanwhile, durian from Thailand takes at least 7-10 days.
Second, in terms of taste, Chinese consumers prefer soft and ripe durian. This is the strength of Vietnamese durian because it takes 120 days from flowering to ripening. On the 110th day, farmers can pick and quickly transport durian then by the time it reaches the buyer, it is ripe.
As for Thai durian, if being harvested at this time and 7-10 days for road transport, durian is overdue and perishable when arriving in China.
Therefore, farmers in Thailand have to harvest 10 to 15 days earlier than in Vietnam, which means they shall cut the durian on the 90th – 95th day. This makes Thai durian when coming to China still unripe while Vietnamese durian has a moderate ripeness.
According to Mr. Nguyen, the long distance has made the transportation and logistics costs of Thai durian higher, causing the price of this item also higher. As a result, it can be seen that these advantages help Vietnam’s durian prices better than Thai.
Because of these reasons, the General Secretary of the Vinafruit said that in terms of logistics, Vietnamese durian exports to China are more advantageous. Therefore, Thailand has considered Vietnamese durian to be the most serious competitor in the largest durian market in the world – China.
Meanwhile, according to data from the Vietnam InformationTrade and Industry Center (VITIC), Vietnam’s durian exports in the first quarter of this year increased by more than 8.3 times (733.2%) compared to the same period last year to 153.5 million USD. In particular, China accounted for 87% of the market share with 133.6 million USD.
With this result, durian has now risen to the second position in the list of key export fruits of Vietnam after dragon fruit (163.3 million USD). The proportion of durian in Vietnam’s total fruit exports has increased to 23.1% compared to just 3.1% in the same period.
Durian is expected to become the largest export fruit of Vietnam in the coming time.
With the current growth rate along with the decline of dragon fruit, durian is expected to soon surpass dragon fruit to become the largest export fruit of Vietnam in the near future.
Mr. Nong Duc Lai, Vietnam Trade Counsellor in Beijing (China), said that: Part of the reason for the impressive growth of vegetables and fruits comes from the fact that many high-value items in our exports have been opened by China in 2022 such as durian, nests, and sweet potatoes. Recently, Chinese Customs has approved 230 growing area codes and packaging facilities for Vietnamese durian. This brings the total to 343 licensed facilities, which is a great motivation for Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export to China. Durian is a fruit with high export value and competitiveness in the Chinese market with the advantage of crop and quality appreciated by local consumers./.