Thailand unexpectedly increases spending on Vietnamese fruits and vegetables

In just the first 6 months of 2024, Thailand spent 97 million USD, double the same period in 2023, to buy Vietnamese fruits and vegetables.

Thailand spent 97 million USD, double the same period in 2023, to buy Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, especially frozen durian - Photo: HAI SON

July 22, exchange with Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Association Vegetables Vietnam - said Thailand is not only the world's leading agricultural country but also a competitor of Vietnam in exporting fruits and vegetables. Currently, Thailand is spending a lot of money to buy Vietnamese agricultural products.

"Topping the list is frozen durian, not fresh durian because this country strictly controls plant quarantine and is afraid of 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," Mr. Nguyen informed.

Explaining why Thailand, a major exporter, spends money on Vietnamese durian, Mr. Nguyen said durian is a product "that at one time only Vietnam had in the world."

According to Mr. Nguyen, Thailand has a very short durian season, only 4 months. Vietnam has durian all year round. And due to the severe drought, this country's durian has decreased in both quantity and quality, so it has to import to serve domestic demand and tourists.

Even increasing purchases of Vietnamese durian could be for processing and exporting to a third country, possibly to China.

Recognizing this as a normal trade and supply-demand issue of the market, especially also an advantage of Vietnamese durian, one export business A fruit producer in Ho Chi Minh City said: "Vietnam's fruits and vegetables currently have abundant domestic supply, and traditional and potential markets both have an increasing trend.

Thailand is currently Vietnam's largest trading partner in ASEAN, but has sharply increased its imports of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables due to this year's unusually hot weather, resulting in a poor Thai durian crop and uneven ripening. Therefore, Thailand has increased its purchases of durian as well as other Vietnamese fruits.

It is known that in 2014, Thailand was the number 1 source of fruits and vegetables for Vietnam, surpassing China and maintaining that position until 2019 with a value of more than 464 million USD.

After 10 years, in early 2024, Thailand has become the 4th largest fruit and vegetable import market of Vietnam.

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