Off-season durian sold at warehouses were purchased by businesses at a price of 218.000-230.000 VND per kilogram, up 15% over the same period, the highest ever.
Records in the Mekong Delta provinces show that durian prices have increased continuously for the past three days. Each kilogram of Monthong type A durian (2.7 boxes weighing 2-5 kg) costs 218.000-230.000 VND per kg (depending on the place), type B (2.5 boxes) costs 195.000-200.000 VND, and type C is over 100.000 VND per kg. . This price increased by 15% compared to the same period and previous month. This is also the highest level ever.
For Ri 6 type A goods, the price is 160.000 VND per kg, for type C it is 70.000 VND. This type has not changed much over the same period.
Mr. Hoang (in Ben Tre) said he was surprised by the "unprecedented" high price of durian. Last month, he just sold a ton of Thai durian that covered the entire garden for 110.000 VND per kilogram. Currently, he has about 2 tons of off-season left to harvest next week. "For the past 3 days, traders have continuously wanted to deposit 130.000-140.000 VND per kilogram of bucket but I haven't sold it yet," Mr. Hoang said.
Monthong durians are purchased and brought to the export enterprise's warehouse. Image: flexible knitting
Also constantly asked by traders to buy, Mr. Lan in Can Tho said that this year's Thai durian prices continue to skyrocket because the supply is less than usual. Last year, his family harvested 4 tons of off-season durian, this year only 3 tons remained. "The effects of weather, drought and salinity cause trees to lose leaves, lack nutrients, and the quality of flowering decreases, so productivity goes down," Mr. Lan said.
Sharing the same opinion, a representative of Van Hoa Durian Company said that compared to the same period last year, Thai durian output at gardeners decreased by 20-30%. "Supply is very scarce, grade A prices peaked at 230.000 VND per kilogram but it is not easy to purchase," said a representative of the above company.
As Ms. Nguyen Hang, a trader in Tien Giang, said she only buys about 5-15 tons of durian every day, while last year it was 30-40 tons a day.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, salinity drought in the Mekong Delta has reached its highest level since the beginning of the season until now, higher than the average for many years and penetrating over 5-15 km deep. It is forecast that this year's dry season will have two more waves of saltwater intrusion at the end of March and early April but the salinity will be lower.
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, predicts that from May onwards, the supply will be abundant again, and the price of this item will stabilize.
To prepare to sign the protocol to export frozen durian to China, the Plant Protection Department requested localities to review growing areas and processing facilities. If frozen durian is licensed, according to Mr. Nguyen, it will help increase the export value of durian products by 30% each year.
Statistics from Customs show that in the first 2 months of the year, Vietnam exported nearly 39.000 tons of durian, equivalent to a value of 172 million USD, an increase of nearly 2 times compared to the same period last year.
The Animal and Plant Quarantine Department (General Administration of Customs of China - GACC) has just warned that 30 shipments of Vietnamese durian exported to China were contaminated with heavy metal cadmium exceeding the limit of China's food safety regulations. These shipments belong to 18 enterprises, which were detected by the Chinese side in violation from June 6 to January this year.
The Plant Protection Department has requested all parties to investigate the cause, retrieve the warned shipments, and review all records, production and collection processes. At the same time, the Department also recommends applying preventive measures to avoid recurrence of violations.
Thi Ha
