Durians flood in from Vietnam as demand surges

Cheaper fruit challenges Thai dominance, with other Asian countries also looking to cash in

When Beijing opened its doors to fresh durian from Vietnam in September, Bob Wang jumped at the opportunity.

The fruit importer in southern China has secured deals with Vietnamese farms that boast a total plantation area of about 3,000 hectares, and he is ordering as much as they can provide.

“If things go well, I will import more than 3,000 containers, or 60,000 tonnes, of Vietnamese durian this year to meet the demand of the Chinese market – three times my import from Thailand,” said Wang, the founder of TWT Supply China, which has more than 3,000 self-owned and contracted truckers nationwide.

Durian has become the most popular imported fruit in China. Despite highly restrictive import controls during the pandemic, China imported about four times as much durian in 2022 compared with 2017, bringing the total value to more than US$4 billion.

“Last year, China imported more than 820,000 tonnes of durians. I’m pretty confident that the import total will easily reach or exceed 900,000 tonnes this year,” said Wang, who has been importing from Thailand for eight years.

Durian from Thailand has ruled the market for years, but that dominance is being challenged by Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia, with Malaysia and the Philippines also looking to expand durian imports to China.

“Imports from Thailand are expected to grow steadily this year, while the market share of Vietnamese durians in China will explode as well,” Wang said.

In 2022, he said, 780,000 tonnes of China’s durian imports were from Thailand.

One Chinese fruit retailer explained that “Thai durians are expensive, but they’re tastier and plumper, while Vietnamese durians are being quickly welcomed because of their cheaper prices”.

Wang noted that Vietnamese durians were about 15 per cent cheaper than Thai durians.

The growing market potential for durian in China has pushed cities in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, bordering Vietnam, to improve logistics to facilitate imports from its neighbour.

Chongzuo was building an advanced logistics centre with cold-chain storage and foodprocessing facilities to improve the import process, said Liu Yeke, deputy director of the city’s development and reform bureau.

He said the first phase of investment would reach about 1.8 billion yuan (HK$2 billion) and be put into use by 2025.

The access enhancements will allow Vietnamese durians to reach all parts of China in one to three days, according to officials and traders who expect consumption to further rise as a result.

Since April, there have been two cross-border freight trains per day transporting Vietnamese fruit through the border town of Pingxiang, according to Huang Wenhan, a cargo supervisor.

“Most of [the fruits] are durian and mangosteen, as they are the most profitable among tropical fruits,” Huang said.

It usually takes just one or two hours to complete entry formalities and place the fruit on cold-chain trucks that can then reach supermarkets across the country in less than three days, Huang added.

Chen Xiao, director of Dongxing Port Service Centre in Guangxi, also expects to see considerable growth in durian imports from Vietnam this year.

“In the past, our port was mainly engaged in seafood imports, but this year the import of durian is increasing rapidly. Now it is the peak season for Vietnamese durians, and dozens of large trucks full of durian enter Dongxing Port every day,” he said.

Rog Chau, a Vietnamese man who runs a small fruit farm near Ho Chi Minh City, said Chinese had started to invest in durian farms in his hometown. “Many fruit farmers are pivoting to plant durian because it is more profitable due to the huge appetite of the Chinese market,” Chau said.

Wang, the importer, expects the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to facilitate greater durian trade, and deals made through the world’s largest trade pact could result in countries such as Indonesia becoming major suppliers.

Many fruit farmers are pivoting to plant durian because it is more profitable

ROG CHAU, VIETNAMESE FRUIT FARMER