This was the first full-tax durian shipment to China under a protocol signed between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and Chinese General Administration of Customs in July. Afterward, 70 tons of durian from Lam Dong Province were shipped to China. 

A representative of Viet Hai Global Supply Chain said Vietnam’s durian is competitive with Thailand’s and Malaysia’s due to its high quality and Vietnam’s location.

“It takes only two hours to carry Vietnamese durian to the Huu Nghi Border Gate so it can preserve freshness. From now on, Chinese consumers can buy high-quality durian at competitive prices,” he said on China’s CCTV13 TV channel on September 21.

The company said it plans to collect 1 million durian from Vietnam, expand the scale, and together with Vietnamese partners, grow durian and build processing plants.

Nguyen Vu Thang, director of Van Xuan Phat Import-Export Co Ltd, said his firm has exported three durian containers to China. It plans to export 1,000 tons per month to this market.

Vu Ngoc Huy from Dung Thai Son Import-Export JSC said after the first shipment of durian, the company has had orders for 500,000 tons of durian from China. However, the current sources of supply cannot satisfy such a quantity. The company will plant 3,000-5,000ha of durian this year to be able to satisfy the Chinese market.

In 2021, China’s durian imports increased by 42.7 percent over 2020, reaching 821,600 tons, up 82.4 percent to $4.205 billion in value, a record-high level. The imports were four times higher than 2017 and it is expected to be even higher this year. 

Thailand is the world’s leading durian exporter to China, with 40 percent of market share. Thai media quoted experts as warning that Vietnam’s success in entering the Chinese market may affect Thai durian growers.

Tam An