In 2024, durian will continue to be a popular item among the middle class in China. In this country of a billion people, consumers can combine durian with anything to create hundreds of different dishes, making young Chinese crazy. It is China's "durian super recipe" that has helped Vietnam's durian industry record a big year.

Statistics from the General Department of Customs show that it is estimated that in 2024, durian exports will earn about 3.3 billion USD, an increase of more than 1 billion USD compared to 2023. Accordingly, durian accounts for nearly 50% of the total export turnover of the entire fruit and vegetable industry in 2024, setting a new historical record.

China is Vietnam’s largest durian export market, accounting for over 90% of total turnover. In addition, exports to Japan and Thailand nearly doubled, while exports to Cambodia increased dramatically by 139 times compared to the previous year.

private
Durian exports continue to set records in 2024. Photo: Manh Khuong

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, many durian orchards have temporarily stopped purchasing, but the price of this "billion-dollar fruit" in Vietnam remains high. Specifically, Ri6 durian is being purchased at prices ranging from 75,000-80,000 VND/kg, while Monthong durian is priced at 138,000-143,000 VND/kg.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2024, our country's durian output will increase sharply by 23% compared to 2023, reaching 1.43 million tons. Not only that, the price of the fruit considered the "king of fruits" of Vietnam is always high, helping farmers have another bumper crop, sharing tens of thousands of billions of VND.

Mr. Nguyen Van Man - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang province - said that up to now, the durian area of ​​the province has reached more than 19,900 hectares, of which 12,492 hectares are for fruit harvesting with an output of about 355,000 tons/year.

According to him, durian is a crop that brings in very high income, up to 1.7 billion VND/ha. Therefore, farmers have the mentality of switching to growing durian in areas with suitable soil and conditions.

Speaking to VietNamNet reporter, Mr. Nguyen Duy Quang, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Khanh Hoa province, informed that durian is the main crop in the mountainous districts of Khanh Son and Khanh Vinh. Last year, the average selling price of durian reached 70,000 VND/kg.

Currently, the whole province has more than 1,788 hectares of fruit for harvest, with an output of 17,569 tons, bringing in revenue of about 1,230 billion VND.

Mr. Quang said that in recent years, Khanh Son district has promoted the conversion of annual and perennial crops with low efficiency to crops with high economic efficiency, forming durian growing areas. Along with that, it has promoted the application of science and technology, new technical advances in production to increase productivity, quality, and competitiveness of specialty durian.

“Durian is gradually becoming a crop that helps increase people’s income. In Khanh Son district, the household that grows the most durian has up to 50 hectares, earning a profit of about 50 billion VND,” Mr. Quang shared.

private
Durian prices are high, farmers continue to reap billions in profits. Photo: Manh Khuong

Last year, with 11,654 hectares of durian, the estimated output reached 41,500 tons, also helping farmers in Dak Nong province earn about 2,490 billion VND.

Meanwhile, in Krong Pac district (Dak Lak), although the weather in 2024 had many fluctuations, greatly affecting the flowering and fruiting process, the total durian output still reached more than 92,000 tons, an increase of more than 11,800 tons compared to the previous year.

In particular, with prices ranging from 60,000-70,000 VND/kg, after harvesting durian, farmers in Krong Pac district share several trillion VND.

In 2025, the People's Committee of Krong Pac district estimates the durian area to be about 9,600 hectares, with an output of more than 106,000 tons. The growing areas that have been granted export codes will have an output of about 60,500 tons. If all goes well, the district's revenue from durian will reach 6,400-7,500 billion VND.

According to the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), each year China imports 7 billion USD worth of fresh durian, 1 billion USD worth of frozen durian and this figure is expected to exceed 10 billion USD in the next few years.

Vietnam has a total durian area of ​​about 155,000 hectares, with an average yield of 25-30 tons/ha, so there is still a lot of room to continue exporting both fresh and frozen products to the Chinese market in 2025.

Notably, Vietnam has the advantage of harvesting durian all year round, with short transportation distances, and the price of Vietnamese durian is lower than that of Thai durian. Accordingly, in the billion-people market, Vietnam's durian exports have continuously made breakthroughs, about to catch up with its competitor Thailand in terms of market share.

The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association believes that if quality and growing area codes are done well, durian exports will earn 3.5 billion USD in 2025.

China has a 'super recipe' for durian, Vietnam is racing to catch up with Thailand . Chinese consumers are so crazy about durian that they combine it with everything possible. This 'super recipe' will help Vietnamese businesses earn 3 billion USD in 2024 and almost catch up with their Thai rivals.