Durian exports in September could exceed 500 million USD

Contributing to the proportion of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports is still durian. The estimated export value of durian in September exceeded 500 million USD.

According to preliminary reports from General Department of Customs, as of September 20, fruit and vegetable export September 2024 reached over 920 million USD, up 9.1% over the previous month and up 37.9% over the same period in 2023.

In the first 9 months of the year, the export value of fruits and vegetables reached more than 5.6 billion USD, an increase of nearly 34% over the same period last year and equal to the export turnover of the whole year 2023.

Of which, the 10 main export markets for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables are still China, the US, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan (China), the Netherlands, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

Private Chinese market is still the number 1 market for importing fruits and vegetables from Vietnam. In 8 months, China spent about 3.1 billion importing fruits and vegetables from Vietnam, an increase of 36% over the same period last year. Next is the US market, spending nearly 227 million USD importing fruits and vegetables from Vietnam, an increase of 35% over the same period last year, South Korea (up 4%), Thailand (up 2%) and Japan (up 3%)...

On the other hand, since the beginning of the year, Vietnam has imported more than 1.6 billion USD, an increase of nearly 13% over the same period in 2023. Thus, the trade surplus of fruits and vegetables after nearly the first 9 months of the year is nearly 4 billion USD.

The largest contributor to Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports to major markets is still durian. Estimated value durian export in September exceeded 500 million USD - this is the first time this figure has been recorded for this item.

Durian exports are forecast to exceed 3 billion USD in 2024 and contribute greatly to the export turnover of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry. Photo: Nhung Bui

Mr. Nguyen Quang Hieu, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), every year China spends 7 billion USD importing fresh durian and 1 billion USD importing frozen durian. This figure is expected to continue to increase in the next few years. This is an extremely potential market for frozen durian from Vietnam in the near future.

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (VINAFRUIT), assessed that the export prospects of the fruit and vegetable industry in 2024 will continue to have positive developments. Especially when it is the harvest season of durian in the Central Highlands, lasting until the end of October.

The Central Highlands durian is still in the harvest stage and will last until the end of October. It is forecasted that durian exports in 2024 will exceed 3 billion USD and contribute greatly to the export turnover of the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry, possibly exceeding 7 billion USD for the first time. Therefore, what needs to be done is to ensure quality and quantity, while complying with the standards and regulations of the importing side, then the export turnover of fruits and vegetables will have new record numbers.

Besides durian, the remaining products officially exported to the market of 1.4 billion people also have high expectations and contribute greatly to export turnover such as bird's nest, sweet potato, longan, rambutan, mango, jackfruit, watermelon, banana, black jelly, mangosteen, lychee, passion fruit, dragon fruit...

According to the Center for Industry and Trade Information (Ministry of Industry and Trade), unfavorable weather and heavy rain from August until now have affected the harvest yield and quality of some fruits and vegetables such as dragon fruit, mango, longan, custard apple, jackfruit, etc. However, in the first 8 months of 2024, the supply of fruits and vegetables is still quite abundant, the output of durian, guava, jackfruit, passion fruit, and oranges all increased, while dragon fruit output decreased by more than 6%.

It is forecasted that in the fourth quarter of 2024, fruit and vegetable exports will continue to grow positively due to increased demand from world markets at the end of the year, along with advantages from signed trade agreements and protocols.

Source