Vietnamese durian 'alone in the market', purchase price continues to skyrocket

By the end of October, Vietnam had exported 6.16 billion USD worth of fruits and vegetables, of which nearly 4.1 billion USD went to the Chinese market. The most impressive export item was still durian with a value of about 2.9 billion USD.

Vietnam emerges as China's largest supplier of durian

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said that currently, Vietnamese durian is "all alone in the market" so the price continues to skyrocket, especially during the off-season when output is low. At times when goods are needed, warehouse owners are willing to buy grade A Monthong durian for 200,000 VND/kg.

On November 19, according to records, durian prices at purchasing warehouses in the Mekong Delta were sky-high, with good quality durian and grade A durian both twice as high as those in the main season. Grade B durian was 20,000 VND/kg lower and grade C was 40,000 VND/kg lower than grade A.

Specifically: The price of durian today, November 19, 2024, recorded an increase of at least 10,000 VND/kg, for all types of durian compared to the same time yesterday, the highest price in the Southwest and the Central Highlands. The best Ri6 durian stands at the highest level of 140,000 VND/kg compared to 65,000 VND/kg in July. The price of Thai durian in the Southwest region stands at the highest level of 185,000 VND/kg compared to 95,000 VND/kg in July.

By region, today's durian prices in the Southwest region: Ri6 beautiful durian and Ri6 bucket durian are 115,000 - 140,000 VND/kg, Ri6 beautiful durian is at 133,000 - 140,000 VND/kg; Thai beautiful durian is at 182,000 - 185,000 VND/kg; Thai bucket durian is at 160,000 - 165,000 VND/kg.

Today's durian prices in the Southeast region: The price of beautiful Ri6 durian and Ri6 durian in bucket is purchased by traders at 110,000 - 135,000 VND/kg; beautiful Thai durian is at 175,000 - 180,000 VND/kg; meanwhile, Thai durian in bucket is at 155,000 - 160,000 VND/kg.

Today's durian prices in the Central Highlands: The price of beautiful Ri6 durian and Ri6 durian in bucket is at the price that traders buy at 115,000 - 140,000 VND/kg; beautiful Thai durian is at 182,000 - 185,000 VND/kg; meanwhile, Thai durian in bucket is at 160,000 - 165,000 VND/kg.

By the end of October, Vietnam had exported 6.16 billion USD worth of fruits and vegetables, of which nearly 4.1 billion USD went to the Chinese market. The most impressive export item was still durian with a value of about 2.9 billion USD. Notably, the "king of fruits" is entering a season that only Vietnam has, so prices are skyrocketing.

The main harvest season in the Central Highlands is almost over, so the amount of durian exported from now until the end of the year will not be as much as in the middle months of the year. However, the West is entering the off-season durian harvest season.

It is worth mentioning that at this time, only Vietnam has durian to harvest in the world, so it has a near monopoly, especially in the Chinese market. In addition, the decrease in durian output in the Western region this year has pushed the price of this commodity up sharply, to a sky-high level, according to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association.

Vietnamese businesses are planning to export frozen durian to China, with the application for a growing area code currently underway. However, due to the current high price of fresh durian, businesses are prioritizing exporting whole durian instead of freezing.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, by the end of October, the country's harvested durian output was estimated at 1.1 million tons, up 20% over the same period last year. In October 2024 alone, the harvested output reached 154,200 tons, down 15% compared to September.

The export market still has a lot of room, especially at the end of the year, but with the current purchase price, exporters say that durian prices may have reached the threshold. The boom of durian in China will boost the export value of vegetables and fruits this year, possibly exceeding all forecasts to reach a new record of 7.5 billion USD.

According to a recent share by Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (HoSE:HAG), about 26,000 durian trees (equivalent to a planting area of ​​200-300 hectares) in Laos of the company will begin to harvest the first crop at the end of this year. Mr. Duc expects that each tree will produce from 20 to 30 fruits, each weighing from 2-4kg, bringing the total output to about 2,000 tons. The company expects to earn more than 200 billion VND in revenue from this first harvest.

Previously, the Chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai said that 300-400 hectares of durian would be harvested in 2024, including the area grown in Vietnam and Laos, 10 times higher than in 2023. Mr. Duc said that by 2025, revenue from durian grown in Laos could reach thousands of billions of VND. With a garden scale of up to 1,200 hectares in Laos, Hoang Anh Gia Lai currently owns the largest durian farm in Southeast Asia.

Regarding output, Mr. Duc said that most of the company's durian is exported to China - a potential market with strong growth in durian consumption demand in the past two years. He also expects durian to create an important "turning point" in Hoang Anh Gia Lai's business activities. Durian is currently being focused on and is gradually becoming the mainstay of Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/sau-rieng-viet-nam-mot-minh-mot-cho-gia-thu-mua-tiep-tuc-tang-vot-234625.html