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Vietnamese Durian Prices Drop 30% in 1 Month

May 07, 2023

According to local media reports, farm gate prices of Ri6 durians in Vietnam had fallen to 50,000–55,000 Vietnamese dong ($2.13–2.35) per kilogram by the end of April, corresponding to a drop of 30–40% compared with earlier in the month.

A durian purchaser named Linh from Tien Giang province said that farm gate prices for grade A and grade B durians in Vietnam were currently around 55,000 dong ($2.35) per kilogram and 48,000 dong ($2.05) per kilogram, respectively. In Thailand, meanwhile, farm gate prices for grade A, grade B and small durians were approximately 60,000 dong ($2.56) per kilogram, 50,000 dong ($2.13) per kilogram and 40,000 dong ($1.71) per kilogram, respectively.

According to Linh, Ri6 durians are currently in abundant supply in Vietnam, with daily production estimated at hundreds of metric tons. She ascribed the considerable decrease in Vietnamese durian prices to the increasingly fierce market competition in China following market access recently being granted to Philippine durians.

A representative from Ngu Hiep Company in Tien Giang province remarked that the durian harvest season has already kicked into gear in Vietnam, with increased supplies from the provinces of Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh and Vinh Long. Picking of the fruit in the southeastern part of the country is also expected to begin very soon.

It has also been reported that the Laotian government has agreed to rent 30,000 hectares of agricultural land to Chinese companies specifically for durian cultivation. This area is equivalent to 27% of Vietnam’s total durian planting area. In addition, the city of Sanya in China’s tropical island province of Hainan is anticipated to harvest 93 hectares of durians in June of this year. Both pieces of news have attracted great attention from Vietnam’s durian sector.

Data from Vietnam Customs indicate that Vietnam exported $56.9 million worth of durians in the first two months of this year, corresponding to a year-on-year increase of 291%. China was the main export destination, accounting for 83% of total exports.

Chinese consumers have been demonstrating an increasingly large appetite for durians, motivating farmers in western Vietnam to convert thousands of hectares of rice fields and jackfruit orchards into durian plantations. After observing this trend, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development advised farmers not to blindly engage in durian cultivation in order to avoid oversupply. Instead, the ministry called on producers to improve their cultivation techniques to enhance fruit quality and achieve a year-round supply.

Image: iStock

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.

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