Durian prices continue to fall sharply

Owning 100 6-year-old durian trees in Dong Nai, Mr. Manh said this year the garden reached about 5 tons of fruit, an increase of 20% compared to last year. However, all Monthong durians only sold for 55,000 VND per kg, down 21% over the same period and the lowest level ever.

“This price is still profitable but not much because fertilizer and labor costs have increased,” he said.

Not only have prices dropped, many gardeners are also worried because the quality of this year’s fruit is not as good as every year. Ms. Hanh, owner of more than one hectare of durian in Dak Lak, said that even though the harvest date has not yet come, she still decided to accept deposits from traders because she is worried that prolonged rain will affect the quality.

“Monthong rarely drops below 60,000 VND per kilogram in the middle of the season. This year the price is unprecedentedly low. I’m just worried that if the fruit doesn’t meet the requirements, the trader will cancel the deposit,” she said.

Not only growers are under pressure, traders also reduce purchases.

Mr. Hoang, who specializes in purchasing durians in the Mekong Delta and Southeast provinces, said he only collects a few tons a day, about a third of last year’s due to export businesses tightening quality standards.

“If we mistakenly buy a substandard batch of goods or are found to have Cadmium residue, we will incur heavy losses. Therefore, this year we only dare to buy a moderate quantity, the rest is consumed domestically,” he said.

According to Mr. Hoang, the harvest in the Mekong Delta is nearly over, the supply is gradually shifting to the Southeast region. However, this area also suffers from prolonged heavy rain so the quality is not stable. Meanwhile, Dak Lak – the region considered to have the most stable durian quality for many years – has not yet entered the main season.

Market surveys show that, in addition to falling prices, export businesses also tighten purchasing standards. Many warehouses only accept fruit of uniform quality and reject batches that show signs of fragility, tenderness, thick skin or do not meet appearance requirements.

Monthong at the warehouse is currently being purchased at 46,000-68,000 VND per kg, while Ri6 is at 28,000-38,000 VND, down about 20-30% compared to the same period last year.

According to many gardeners and traders, this is a rare time when Monthong prices drop deeply in the middle of the season. This development reflects a slowdown in export purchasing power as fruit quality declines under the impact of weather.

According to Mr. Vo Tan Loi, Chairman of Dong Thap Durian Association, the main reason for the price decrease is not due to increased supply but due to the decline in fruit quality.

He said that prolonged rain caused many durian growing areas to suffer from damaged durians, in some places the rate was up to 30-40%, reducing the amount of goods meeting export standards. Ri6 is prone to water loss, while Monthong also has many dry fruits, making the selection of grade A products (2.7 boxes, 1.5-5kg) increasingly strict.

“The quality is not guaranteed, so the Chinese side proactively lowers the purchasing price. Domestic traders also do not dare to buy heavily because of the risk of exported goods not meeting requirements,” Mr. Loi said.

In addition to the quality factor, the decrease in Thai durian prices also drags down the price level in Vietnam.

According to Mr. Loi, this year the durian industry falls into a paradox when output increases but quality decreases. Many tree areas entered the business stage, silk trees began to be harvested, helping to produce higher yields than last year. However, adverse weather causes the proportion of fruit meeting export standards to decrease, forcing importers to tighten purchasing and lower prices.

Increasingly high quality requirements are also a message that the Chinese side has emphasized many times recently.

At the recent Vietnam – China Trade Forum in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Ha Vi, representative of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, said that consumers in this country are increasingly concerned about quality, food safety and traceability. According to him, quality inspection and quarantine are normal requirements in international trade. If the enterprise controls the quality well from the growing area and fully meets import standards, the frequency of sampling at the border gate can be reduced, helping to shorten customs clearance time.

“The current trend is not only to increase output but also to improve quality to meet the increasing requirements of the market,” he said.