According to Nguyen Dinh Tung, CEO of Vina T&T Group, the Chinese market alone consumed 400 containers of fresh durian of the company in 2023.

In 2023, the company signed a contract on exporting 2,000 containers of fresh durian to China, but it could not collect enough durian for export. The company has to gear up to fulfill the contract in 2024.

The General Department of Customs (GDC) reported that as of November 2023, durian exports had brought turnover of $2.2 billion, an increase of 4.8 times over the same period last year. In addition to fresh durian, Vietnam also exported frozen and dried durian products.

China was the biggest consumer of Vietnam’s durian which imported $2 billion worth of the fruit, accounting for 91 percent of total durian export turnover.

The signing of a protocol on exporting full-tax durians to China since mid-2022 has helped created an export boom. Durian exports made a significant contribution to the turnover of $5.5 billion worth of fruit exports in 2023.

Doan Nguyen Duc, president of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL), after harvesting and selling durian of the first crop, told VietNamNet that the company enjoyed a large custom and most of buyers were Chinese.

In addition to China, other countries have also begun loving durian. He joked that durian is highly addictive and addicts won’t be able to give it up. He began eating durian some years ago and has also become an 'addict'.

In 2023, durian export turnover to Czechia increased by 28,195 percent over the year before, while growth rates of 222-837 percent have been reported for the Canadian and American Papua New Guinea markets.

Even Thailand, the biggest durian grower and exporter in the world, spent $96.9 million to import durian from Vietnam in the first 11 months of 2023.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, Thailand imports durian from Vietnam because the latter sells the fruit all year round, while in Thailand, there is only one durian season a year.

Vast markets

Asked about the durian export plan in 2024, Duc said HAGL hoped it would harvest at least 300-400 hectares of durian this year, or 10-13 times higher than in 2023.

The businessman revealed that there are hundreds of Chinese customers queuing up to buy HAGL’s durian.

Duc is optimistic when talking about durian demand. In China, only 10 percent of population eat durian because the fruit is too expensive. Meanwhile, the US and other markets have also begun buying durian.

He believes that Vietnam’s durian output won’t be high enough to satisfy demand in the next 10 years.

Vu Kim Hanh, chair of the Vietnam High-Quality Goods Business Association, said the Chinese durian market alone may be worth $20 billion, and the world market may be valued at $28.6 billion by 2025. 

The durian farming sector is predicted to see the 7.2 percent growth rate per annum in 2019-2025.

According to Nguyen Quy Duong from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), after fresh durian was granted the right to enter the Chinese market, the ministry began negotiating with Chinese agencies on exporting frozen durian as well.

If China opens its market to frozen durian, Vietnam will be able to boost exports to the vast market.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, secretary general of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association,  said having durian all year round for export is a great advantage, while in other countries, durian is only available in season.

At present, only Vietnam has durian to sell and the prices are very high. Ri6 durian is priced at VND100,000-120,000 per kilogram, Monthong durian VND135,000-160,000, and Musang King VND160,000-190,000.

Nguyen estimated that Vietnam reaped $2.3 billion from durian exports in 2023, and the figure may reach $3.5 billion in 2024, when output is higher and more farming growing codes and packaging facilities get certificates on satisfying requirements.

Meanwhile, Tung warned that once product prices are overly high, they won’t be sustainable.

Durian growers now just need to sell durian at VND50,000-80,000 per kilogram to make high profits. The prices are high enough to ensure profit for exporters and are affordable for consumers.

Tam An