In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, durian growers in our country are enjoying unprecedented success as the price of this fruit continues to increase sharply, about to reach the historical peak set in late January and early February last year.

“Today, I just sold more than 1 ton of Monthong durian at 185,000 VND/kg of selected goods, earning 185 million VND,” Ms. Cu Thi Thai - a durian grower in Tien Giang - happily boasted.

After more than ten years of growing durian, this is the highest price she has ever sold it for. Notably, at this price, with Monthong durians weighing 5-5.5kg, she earned about 1 million VND.

Ms. Thai grows 4 hectares of Monthong durian. This is the off-season, so the yield is not as high as the regular season, but in return, the price of durian is sky-high. It is estimated that each hectare of this durian crop will yield 15 tons of fruit. After deducting the cost of about 300 million VND, she is sure to make a profit of 2 billion VND/hectare.

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Durian prices are sky high but traders are still looking to buy it. (Photo: Manh Khuong)

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, a durian grower in Can Tho , also revealed that this season his family only has 2 hectares of durian for harvest, but he estimates the profit to be about more than 4 billion VND.

“I grow Ri6 durian. The cost for 1 hectare is estimated at 200-300 million VND. The durian yield is 20 tons of fruit/ha. I harvest durian in many batches, and I sell it at a price ranging from 110,000-140,000 VND/kg, so I make a big profit,” he said.

Talking to PV. VietNamNet , Mr. Huynh Tan Loc - Director of Ngu Hiep Durian Cooperative (Cai Lay, Tien Giang) - calculated that with the current price, durian growers can make a profit of 2-2.5 billion VND/ha depending on the type and yield.

Mr. Loc said that in recent months, durian prices have been increasing sharply. Monthong grade 1 durian purchased at the garden costs 180,000-185,000 VND/kg, Ri6 durian costs 125,000-130,000 VND/kg.

“Durian prices are so expensive that farmers can earn VND1 million by selling just one Monthong durian weighing more than 5kg,” he said. However, durian prices are still expected to increase sharply after Tet.

Currently, durian crops are out of season and demand from the Chinese market has increased, pushing prices sky high. However, businesses are still buying up the goods to export to China.

According to Mr. Loc, due to the rarity of the product, it takes him 2-3 days to collect enough durian to fill an 18-ton container as ordered by a business. When a business urgently needs goods to export to China, 2-3 purchasing units like him have to combine the goods to fill a container.

“For the past two days, businesses still need a large amount of goods, but durian is scarce due to broken harvests. The cooperative has also temporarily stopped purchasing,” said Mr. Loc, adding that on the 6th or 9th of Tet, the cooperative will resume purchasing.

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Chinese people are racing to buy durian as Tet gifts, helping Vietnamese farmers earn a profit of 2-2.5 billion VND/ha. (Photo: Manh Khuong)

In the southwestern provinces, Ri6 durian is being purchased at the garden at 125,000-143,000 VND/kg; Monthong durian at 160,000-187,000 VND/kg; Musang King durian remains at 160,000-190,000 VND/kg.

In the Southeast region, durian prices increased to 124,000-183,000 VND/kg depending on the type.

According to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - durian is a popular fruit in China. In this market, durian has become a high-class fruit.

In particular, China's consumption demand increases during the time leading up to Lunar New Year. Because this is the biggest festival season of the year, people consider durian a precious gift to give, a fruit to offer...

At this time, countries like Thailand and Malaysia have passed the durian harvest season. In the world , only Vietnam has durian to harvest, so Vietnamese goods are "alone" in the Chinese market.

Mr. Nguyen predicts that durian prices will continue to increase sharply as off-season supply is limited while demand in China is high.

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, in 2023, durian exports will reach 2.1 billion USD. Of which, durian exports to China will reach 2.03 billion USD, accounting for 99.4% of the total export value of this fruit in our country.

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen is optimistic that in the next 10-20 years, Vietnamese durian will still be "healthy". In particular, exporting frozen durian will help our country take full advantage of preservation to better penetrate the market. China is a country with over 1.4 billion people, people in many places cannot eat fresh durian, so when frozen, Vietnamese durian will be available in remote areas of this country at a more reasonable price.

China spends 2 billion USD buying durian for food, durian in Vietnamese market is too expensive China has spent more than 2 billion USD massively buying durian from our country in the past 11 months. In the garden, traders are scouring for export goods, making the "king of fruits" in Vietnamese market extremely expensive.