Only Vietnam still has fresh durian for sale.

At present, only Vietnam has fresh durian to sell, so the export price is still very good. Not only durian but also the price of many other fruits has increased sharply, helping the export turnover of fruits and vegetables in the first 8 months of this year exceed 1.2 billion USD compared to the same period last year.

Prices of many fruits continue to increase

Ms. Nguyen Thu Hien, in Buon Ho Town ( Dak Lak ), said that this year, durians have a good harvest and good prices, so local people are very excited. This week, traders reported stable prices for Ri6 durian , good quality from 55,000 - 58,000 VND/kg. Yesterday, the price of Dona durian continued to increase by 2,000 - 3,000 VND to 92,000 - 96,000 VND/kg; bulk purchases were also from 75,000 - 85,000 VND/kg. Compared to the same period last year, the current price has increased by more than 20,000 VND/kg.

However, the high prices have not only caused traders to compete to buy and sell, but have also caused many security and order problems. For about a month now, every house with a garden or even just a few durian trees has had to assign someone to guard it all day long. Especially at night, they have to sleep in hammocks to prevent theft. Houses with large gardens have had to hire extra security guards.

With favorable exports, durian prices continue to increase despite the main harvest season in the Central Highlands. Photo: DAO NGOC THACH

Half a month ago, one of the people with the largest durian orchard in Vietnam, Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company, said he would sell a batch of 500 tons of durian for 77,000 VND/kg. This is the "natural off-season" time when only Vietnam has fresh durian for export, so the price will be very good.

"Durian still has a lot of potential in the Chinese market because in this country, only a few people have enjoyed the taste of durian for the first time. Durian is an addictive fruit, whoever can eat it will continue to eat it. I myself could not eat durian before, but now I am a person who loves this dish. Besides, not only Chinese people but also people from many other countries are starting to eat this dish. People of Chinese origin are also present all over the world ," said Mr. Duc.

Fruit and vegetable exports through road border gates still account for a large quantity.

According to the Management Board of Dong Dang - Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone (Lang Son), the situation of cross-border exports at border gates in the province is favorable and smooth. On August 29, 2023, the number of vehicles with export goods was 428; including: 284 fruit trucks, 144 other cargo trucks. The number of vehicles carrying export goods in stock as of 8:00 p.m. on August 29, 2023 was 149; including: 110 fruit trucks, 39 other cargo trucks.

As a person who closely follows the developments of the fruit and vegetable industry, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (VINAFRUIT), said: As of June 2023, durian exports have reached 915 million USD; it is estimated that by the end of August, this figure could reach 1.2 billion USD. Currently, the largest durian producing region in the country, the Central Highlands, is in the peak harvest season. Meanwhile, durians in other countries are at the end of the season, with limited output or only frozen products remaining. Therefore, Vietnam's fresh durian has more opportunities to increase export turnover in the last months of the year. The export value for the whole year of 2023 could exceed 1.5 billion USD.

In addition to durian, many of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports have also grown strongly, such as bananas, jackfruit, mangoes and processed passion fruit, all reaching a turnover of over 100 million USD in the first 6 months of the year. Some other products, although of lower value, still increased in turnover by 3 digits, such as watermelon, lychee, grapefruit, areca nuts, etc. The strong and consistent growth of fruit and vegetable products has helped the export turnover in the first 8 months of 2023 reach nearly 3.5 billion USD, an increase of 57%, in absolute terms, an increase of more than 1.2 billion USD compared to the same period in 2022.

Banana exports to increase in 2023. Photo: CHI NHAN

Banana prices increase, jackfruit "dances"

Besides durian, bananas and jackfruit are Vietnam's main fruit exports. Mr. Vo Quan Huy, Director of Huy Long An Company Limited - known as the "banana king", said: This year, banana exports are relatively favorable. In the two main markets, Japan and South Korea, output and prices are stable thanks to long-term contracts. Particularly in the largest market, China, prices are always maintained at a level higher than normal by about 3 USD/kg. Currently, it is the low season in China because they are also in the harvest season, but the selling price is still at 10 - 11 USD/kg compared to the average of previous years of only about 7 USD/kg. At the beginning of the year, the price of bananas exported to China was up to 14 - 15 USD/kg.

"This year, banana exports to China are favorable because many suppliers to China have been affected in both output and quality due to Panama disease on banana trees. This disease also affects some banana growing areas in this country. In addition, unfavorable weather conditions have reduced China's banana productivity. These factors have helped banana exports to China to be more favorable this year," said Mr. Huy.

Vietnam needs to improve durian quality

Thailand is the main exporter of fresh durian to China, while Malaysia is the exporter of high-quality frozen durian. To increase competition, Thailand has decided to raise its export quality standards for durian with a minimum dry matter content of 35%, instead of 32% as in previous years. The higher the dry matter content, the less water content, so the durian will be firmer and tastier. The Philippines has obtained a protocol to export fresh durian to China, with 50,000 tons of durian this year. This will make the country one of the three major suppliers of fresh durian to the Chinese market, along with Thailand and Vietnam. China's lack of success in growing durian is a good thing for exporting countries. However, Vietnam needs to strengthen and enhance confidence in the quality of its products, not only in China but also in the domestic consumption market of 100 million people. In addition, in addition to the traditional market, it is necessary to expand new markets in countries with many Vietnamese and Chinese people living. The Vietnamese community abroad alone has over 5.3 million people, of which more than 2 million are in the US, which is also a potential market for Vietnamese durian in the future.

The same goes for jackfruit. Over the past week, jackfruit prices in the Mekong Delta have skyrocketed from VND50,000/kg to VND60,000/kg. This is arguably the highest price in many years. Mr. Doan Van Hoai, owner of a jackfruit warehouse in Cai Be District (Tien Giang), announced: "The current purchase price of grade 1 Thai jackfruit has reached VND60,000/kg. This is a price beyond the predictions and expectations of garden owners. The high demand for exports to China while jackfruit output is decreasing is the factor pushing up the price." By August 30, many jackfruit warehouses in some provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta had stopped operating. The reason given by the warehouses was that there was no goods to buy. Some warehouses said that the traders who brought the fruit to the warehouse were very few, not enough to load the trucks to transport to China, so they had to temporarily stop operating. The unstable supply of goods has caused jackfruit prices to drop slightly in recent days, averaging 5,000 - 8,000 VND/kg.

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