China allows more durian from Vietnam as surging trade underpins new ‘codependency’ in ties
- More than 99 per cent of Vietnam’s durian exports went to China last year, and the Southeast Asian country is expected to ship US$3.5 billion of the fruit in 2024
- Demand for durian in China is so great that the market appears far from saturated, and among countries capable of meeting that demand, the race is on
Vietnam’s durian exports to China this year are expected to expand in value by two-thirds over 2023 following permission from Beijing to let more of the Southeast Asian country’s pungent, lucrative fruit reach a still-unsaturated market.
China has approved taking durian shipments from 27 more tracts of land in Binh Phuoc, an inland province north of Ho Chi Minh City, after the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association trade group had estimated that the value of all durian exports from Vietnam would swell to US$3.5 billion this year.
Those 27 tracts cover 701.5 hectares (1,733 acres) and can yield up to 14,030 tonnes of durians annually, the Chinese embassy in Vietnam said on Monday. In a statement on its website, the embassy added that China now allows durians from 65 tracts in Binh Phuoc, spanning 2,412 hectares.
Vietnam shipped US$2.1 billion worth of durian to China last year, and that figure had soared from just US$188.1 million in 2022. China allowed fresh Vietnamese durians in 2021 after the fruit met phytosanitary requirements.
Smells like victory: countries vie to be China’s durian king as crop flourishes
Chinese consumers prize durians as high-end treats and frequently gift them for special occasions. A single durian can sell for 100 to 200 yuan (US$14 to US$28).
Durian exports from Thailand and Vietnam dominate the Chinese market, but China is nurturing a young domestic crop, Malaysia is seeking a durian trade deal with China, and the Philippines is expanding production of the fruit.
“The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association expresses optimism toward prospects for the Chinese market for durian exports,” the VietnamPlus news outlet said in a February 25 report on the trade group’s export-value estimate for the year.
A land border with China helps Vietnam ship durians by truck or train, saving on transport costs compared with other exporters, according to Nguyen Thanh Trung, a political scientist at Fulbright University Vietnam.
Truck traffic into China “is absolutely huge” today, said Ralf Matthaes, founder of the Infocus Mekong Research consultancy in Ho Chi Minh City.
China gains from the Vietnam durian trade, in part, by sweetening broader relations with Vietnam, Nguyen said. The two countries dispute sovereignty over parts of the South China Sea, causing occasional friction.
“What China can gain from it is Vietnam increasingly relying on China, and it creates some kind of codependency,” he said.
Vietnamese durian growers who make money from the trade will feel “more positive sentiment” toward China, Nguyen added.
China’s durian market ripe for the picking as Thailand loses ground to Vietnam
Growers in Vietnam can harvest durian in all seasons, the trade group said, as quoted by VietnamPlus. “The Vietnamese durian crop can be harvested year-round, an advantage compared with the seasonality in other countries,” the group said.
But only some soil types in Vietnam can accommodate durians. And for a grower to switch crops, it would mean letting the land lay fallow and unprofitable for a year, Matthaes said.
China imported 1.4 million tonnes of durian from all countries last year, up 69 per cent over 2022, customs data showed. Thailand took a 67.98 per cent share of that total, with most of the remaining balance coming from Vietnam.
Vietnam last year produced 850,000 tonnes of durian from 110,000 hectares, VietnamPlus reported. The country’s durian reached 24 world markets, but more than 99 per cent of exports went to China, the Vietnamese news source said.
As the world’s main importer of durian, China was procuring about 95 per cent of global exports last year, according to the Durian Global Trade Overview report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The second-biggest importer, Singapore, received around 3 per cent.
