Durian exports have earned more than a billion USD in just half of 2024
Vietnam’s durian harvest season is now in full swing. According to the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), this year’s durian output is estimated at 1.5 million tons, a sharp increase over last year.
 |
| Vietnamese durian has more competitors in the Chinese market |
On June 22, export packing warehouses announced that the price of Monthong (Dona) durian grade 1 fluctuated around 80,000 - 85,000 VND/kg, grade 2 price 70,000 - 80,000 VND/kg; Ri 6 durian grade 1 price 55,000 - 60,000 VND/kg, grade 2 price 40,000 - 45,000 VND/kg.
Durian is one of the agricultural products favored by the billion-people Chinese market. Last April, Vietnam surpassed Thailand for the first time in exporting this fruit to China. In the past two years, the Chinese market has been "buying" the goods, so farmers have been able to sell durian at high prices.
According to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, it is estimated that in the first 6 months of this year, fruit and vegetable exports earned about 3.5 billion USD, of which durian accounted for 30 - 35% of the export turnover of this industry. This means that durian export turnover in the first half of this year reached more than 1 billion USD.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung - General Director of Vina T&T Group shared that the company's durian export volume to the Chinese market is very stable. This year, the company plans to export about 150 durian containers to China, equivalent to 2,400 tons of goods.
More competition but no worries
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, in the first 4 months of this year, Vietnamese durian accounted for 39.2% of the total fresh durian imported by this country, an increase of 25.9 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, the proportion of imports from Thailand decreased to 60% of China's total imports, equivalent to a decrease of 26.7 percentage points.
However, in addition to Thailand and the Philippines, Vietnamese durian will have more competitors in this market of more than a billion people. Because, from June 19, fresh durian from Malaysia will be officially exported to China after the two countries signed a protocol on phytosanitary requirements for durian. Previously, Malaysia was only allowed to export frozen durian to the Chinese market.
Malaysia's durian export market to China has been expanded. Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu - Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Malaysia hopes that this Protocol will promote the domestic durian industry and increase the value of agricultural exports. At the same time, he expressed his belief that the above Protocol will create more opportunities for more than 63,000 durian growers nationwide.
During the period 2018 - 2022, the total export value of Malaysia's durian increased by 256.3%. In 2022, Malaysia's durian exports recorded a value of 1.14 billion ringgit (US$250 million). China is the main market for Malaysian durian, with the export value reaching 887 million ringgit (US$188 million) in 2022. Mr. Mohamad Sabu expects the export value of Malaysia's durian to China to increase to 1.8 billion ringgit (US$380 million) by 2030.
Most durian farms in Malaysia grow specialty varieties similar to Musang King. Therefore, Malaysian durians will stand out in the high-end segment of the international market. Minister Mohamad Sabu said that Malaysia has the potential to gain a significant market share in China thanks to Musang King durian. “If we start planting durian now, we can reap the benefits in five or six years,” he said, stressing that farmers can grow any durian variety as long as they ensure export quality.
The presence of fresh durian from Malaysia will increase the heat of competition in the Chinese market. Previously, only 3 countries were allowed to export fresh durian to the world's second largest economy: Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Malaysia’s durian production is lower than that of Thailand and Vietnam. However, Malaysia has an advantage in high-quality durian varieties. The country is home to the Musang King durian, known as the “king of durians” for its strong aroma and golden-yellow flesh.
Regarding this issue, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen said that, up to now, China is still the world's largest durian consumer market. The size of the durian market in this country increases sharply every year and can "contract" all durian production in Southeast Asian countries.
However, among the four countries that are allowed to officially export fresh durian to China, Vietnam still has many advantages. The reason is that the durian harvest season in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines only lasts a few months in the middle of the year, while Vietnam harvests in a spread-out manner, so there are exports every season.
Regarding Malaysia, according to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, the country's durian when exported to the Chinese market targets the high-end segment, while Vietnamese durian is usually in the low-end segment. Therefore, we are not under too much pressure to compete with Malaysian goods.
In addition to fresh durian, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen added that China also spent more than 1 billion USD to import frozen durian. This is also a potential segment for Vietnamese durian.
Currently, technical negotiations for exporting frozen durian to the Chinese market have been completed. If the Protocol is signed, Vietnam's export turnover of this item to the Chinese market could reach 300 million USD. Thus, Vietnam's total durian export turnover in 2024 is expected to reach 3.5 billion USD.
Source: https://congthuong.vn/sau-rieng-viet-them-doi-thu-tai-thi-truong-trung-quoc-327633.html
Comment (0)