Vietnam sees surge in durian prices amid rising international demand

In Vietnam there was a significant variation on durian prices was noticed on Monday, mainly within areas like Mekong Delta, and Central Highlands, the country’s most prolific durian-producing regions. Ri6’s highest quality durians saw an adjustment in price, trading at a price of VND163,000 ($6.45) each kilogram within the Mekong Delta. That’s an 1.9 percentage increase over the previous weekend. The prices were also stable in the Central Highlands, at the level of VND160,000 ($6.32) per kilogram within the Central Highlands. However monthong durian prices experienced an 2.9 percentage increase, reaching 175,000 VND ($6.92) for a kilogram of durian in the Central Highlands, while maintaining similar prices within the Mekong Delta. Export rates for Ri6 and the Thai cultivar were also consistent. Ri6 variety as well as the Thai cultivar were similar with VND152,000 ($6.01) and VND179,000 ($7.07) per kilogram for the respective kilograms.

Durian demand has been growing internationally and eight countries are notably expanding the imports of Vietnamese durian this year. The surge in demand has pushed Vietnam’s durian exports up to $2.8 billion during the first nine months of the year, which is a 60% increase over last year as well as the largest ever in this time. In a study by MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), durian production in Vietnam was 984,800 tonnes at September’s end increasing by 16.6 percent year-on-year. As the harvest season begins on October 1st with the harvest season beginning in October Gia Lai and Lam Dong as well as off-season crops that are being grown within the Mekong Delta set to harvest later in the season, the production total is predicted to be higher than 1.2 million tonnes.

Vietnam does not just cater to the domestic market, but also exports an enormous quantity of durians overseas to countries such as China as well as Thailand. Durian export revenues during the last nine months has been estimated at $2.5 billion. This is the record for all time, with exports to China only accounting for $2.3 billion. In terms of imports the country’s durian imports in the initial eight months of 2024 totalled close to $9 million. That’s an astounding 1,057% rise over the previous year. In the domestic market, there is an array of Vietnamese durians. There are also premium durians imported from Thailand as well as Malaysia. Durian prices vary dramatically, with import varieties like Fumoni, Kanyao, Black Thorn as well as Musang King fetching prices between VND200,000 ($7.90) up to VND1 million ($39.50) per kilogram dependent on the quality and method of transport.

Source: VNExpress

Source: Vietnamnet

Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies