China increases purchases of Vietnamese durian and decreases purchases of Thai durian

According to the Customs Administration of China, in the first 4 months of 2024, China's fresh durian imports reached 202,500 tons, worth USD 1.09 billion, down 35.2% in volume and down 32% in value compared to the same period in 2023.

Thailand is still the largest market supplying fresh durian to China. However, in the first 4 months of 2024, Thai fresh durian imports into China decreased sharply. The reason is that the hot sun and drought have affected Thailand's durian output in the first months of the year.

Even due to reduced output, Thailand is having to import more frozen durian from Vietnam, with the import volume increasing sharply to meet the demand of tourists from China for durian.

Durian imports from Thailand decreased sharply, leading to the proportion of Thai fresh durian in China's total amount of imported durian in the first 4 months of 2024 falling to 60%, much lower than 86.7% of the first 4 months of 2023.

Meanwhile, the proportion of Vietnamese durian in the total amount of durian imported into China increased and reached 39.2% in the first 4 months of the year, a sharp increase compared to 13.3% in the same period in 2023. Thereby, helping Vietnam maintain its position as the second-largest durian supplier in the Chinese market.

In contrast to Thai durian, Vietnamese durian imports into China are increasing very strongly. In the first 4 months of 2024, Vietnamese durian imported into China reached 79,300 tons, worth USD 369.8 million, up 91% in volume and 81.9% in value over the same period in 2023.

The Agency of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Industry and Trade) commented that Vietnamese durian is assessed to have a competitive advantage thanks to its abundant output and scattered harvest all year round, especially when in season, not competing with Thai durian. In addition, an advantage of Vietnamese durian when exported to China is its fast shipping time and competitive price. These are the factors that help Vietnamese durian make great steps in the Chinese market after less than 2 years of opening in this market.

The number of durian-growing areas granted growing area codes by China increased sharply this year, which is also an important reason for promoting Vietnamese durian exports to this market.

Currently, in the Chinese market, in addition to Thai durian, Vietnamese durian is having to compete with Philippine durian, but the pressure from this market is not great. In the first 4 months of this year, only 1,778 tons of Philippine durian were imported into China, worth USD 5.8 million. Compared to the same period in 2023, Philippine durian imports into China are increasing very strongly, reaching a 3-digit growth rate. However, both volume and value are very modest compared to Thai durian or Vietnamese durian.

Durian grown in China is also continuing to be introduced to the market, even though the output is still very small. Sources from China show that this is the second year durian grown in Hainan has been harvested and brought to market, with an expected output of about 250 tons, an increase of 400% compared to the previous year. The durian growing area in Hainan is continuing to expand, from 1,400 mu (93.3 hectares) in 2023 to 4,000 mu (266.7 hectares) this year.

With high demand from the Chinese market, the scale of durian growing in Hainan is forecast to increase to about 100,000 mu (6,667 hectares) in the next 3–5 years. Hainan durian blooms in March, is brought to market at the end of May, ripes on a large scale in mid-June, and will be harvested until September.

The biggest problem with Vietnamese durian today when being exported to China is controlling a number of plant quarantine objects on durian. Mr. Vo Quan Huy, Director of Huy Long An-My Binh Co., Ltd. (Long An province), said that in addition to growing bananas for export, in recent times, he has invested in growing durian on an area of several dozen hectares in Bac Tan Uyen district, Binh Duong.

Mr. Huy shared that controlling mealybugs on bananas, durians, etc. is very difficult because they are very small. Meanwhile, the company cannot use pesticides of chemical origin in banana or durian gardens because using chemical medicines will pose a risk of chemical residues on the product and affect the health of harvest workers. Therefore, a solution is needed to effectively solve this problem for fruits exported to China, including durian.

According to the General Administration of Customs, Vietnam's durian exports in the first 4 months of the year reached USD 470 million, an increase of 2.4 times over the same period in 2023. The largest export market is China, with a turnover of USD 432.2 million, increasing 2.7 times over the same period last year and accounting for 92% of Vietnam's total durian exports. Next is Thailand, with an export turnover of USD 22.5 million, an increase of 81.7% over the same period, and accounting for 4.8% of the market share.

Thus, durian continues to be the No. 1 export fruit in the structure of Vietnam's export fruit categories. Promoting the export of this type of fruit will contribute to promoting the positive growth of Vietnam's fruit exports in 2024.