Durian prices fall, traders are both buying and worrying

Thai durian is being purchased by traders for about 60,000 - 70,000 VND/kg - Photo: MAU TRUONG

Having many years of experience in purchasing durian and reselling it to warehouses in Cai Be district (Tien Giang province), Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lam - a trader specializing in purchasing durian - said that the price of durian has never fluctuated as much as recently.

“In just a few days, the price of each kilogram of durian has dropped by tens of thousands of dong. Now, we have agreed on a price with the gardener and scheduled to harvest tomorrow, but tomorrow the price may continue to drop sharply,” said Mr. Lam.

Mr. Lam and many other durian traders go to people's durian gardens every day to check the garden, set the price, then hire workers to cut it, then transport it to warehouses and companies to make a profit. The price difference from garden to warehouse is about 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg, depending on the area and the season.

However, there have been consecutive days when traders have failed to make deposits with gardeners, but the next day the price of durian has dropped, causing many traders to suffer losses. “This is the main job, if we don’t collect goods, we will go hungry, but making deposits with gardeners is also nerve-wracking because we don’t know if the price will go up or down in the next day,” said Mr. Binh, a colleague of Mr. Lam.

On April 16, a survey in Cai Be area, Cai Lay district, Cai Lay town (Tien Giang) and some areas in Ben Tre province showed that Ri 6 durian bought at the garden is currently priced from 35,000 - 40,000 VND/kg, Monthong durian (Thai) is priced from 60,000 - 70,000 VND/kg. Currently, many warehouses have stopped purchasing, only a few warehouses are still purchasing Thai durian.

This price has decreased by more than 2/3 compared to the time when the price reached a record about 1 year ago. At that time (around March 2024), the price of Thai durian was about 220,000 VND/kg; Ri 6 durian was about 150,000 - 170,000 VND/kg).

A trader in Tien Giang said the reason Ri 6 durian has lost less value is because it can still be consumed in the markets, so the consumption situation is relatively more stable than Thai goods.

According to a durian exporting enterprise in Cai Lay district (Tien Giang), the durian export situation is very difficult.

Previously, the company mainly purchased and exported durian to the Chinese market.

However, due to difficulties in export, mainly due to China tightening cadmium inspection, the company has temporarily stopped exporting durian to this market.

In 2024, fruit and vegetable export turnover will reach 7.12 billion USD, an increase of 27% compared to 2023. Of which, durian is the main product, accounting for nearly 50% of the total fruit and vegetable turnover, reaching 3.2 billion USD and mainly exported to China (736,000 tons with a value of 2.94 billion USD).

In 2025, Vietnam is expected to harvest about 1.5 million tons of durian, concentrated from April to September.

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MAU TRUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sau-rieng-rot-gia-thuong-lai-vua-gom-hang-vua-lo-20250415215510283.htm