Thai people raise their own export standards
Durian in particular consumer market , China spends about $4 billion a year on importing durian fruit. China Customs data shows that the country imported 821,500 tons of fresh durian in 2021, up 4 times compared to 2017. In 2022, despite being affected by the Covid epidemic, the market is more than 1.4 This billion people still import about 800,000 tons of durian.
Thai durian has "covered" in China for many years. As a result, farmers in the Golden Temple land earn several billion dollars a year.
However, Thai durian now has more competitors. From July 2022, China officially "grants a visa" for Vietnamese durian fruit for official export to this market. In addition, from January 4, 2023, China also allowed Philippine durian exports to this country.
In fact, from September 2022 (the time of exporting durian batches to China according to the protocol) up to now, Vietnam's durian export turnover has increased dramatically. Even last October, Vietnam's durian exports to China increased by about 4.120% compared to the same period in 2021. Vietnamese durian is favored by consumers in this market, the price is competitive with Thailand durian. xuất khẩu sầu riêng của Việt Nam tăng đột biến. Thậm chí, tháng 10 ngoái, xuất khẩu sầu riêng của Việt Nam sang Trung Quốc còn tăng khoảng 4.120% so với cùng kỳ năm 2021. Sầu riêng Việt được người tiêu dùng ở thị trường này ưu chuộng, giá bán cạnh tranh với sầu Thái Lan.
In the last months of 2022, Thai media continuously mentioned that Vietnam's fresh durian successfully exported officially to the Chinese market with competitive prices, making Thai farmers uneasy.
The 2023 durian harvest in eastern Thailand is coming, with an estimated output of 756,456 tons of fresh durian, up 3.3% year-on-year. The official durian collection from March 10. Durian varieties Puang Manee, Chani and Monthong are harvested, respectively.
In the face of increasing competitive pressure in the Chinese market, this year, Thailand raised the standard of durian export quality. Accordingly, the minimum dry matter must reach 35%, instead of 32% like last year. Along with that, Thailand also promotes durian exports by road and rail transit through Laos, so that transporting durian to China will be faster than by sea.
According to experts in the plant protection industry, the dry matter in the fruit increases, the less water it contains. Thus, the durian fruit will be firmer and tastier. This is a move by Thailand to retain Chinese consumers.
Queen Frozen Fruit Co, Ltd - one of Thailand's largest durian exporters - has signed an agreement with a Chinese business group to sell 5,000 containers of fresh and frozen durian. Thai Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Prapat Pothasuthon said that the agreement affirms that orders for Thai durian will be exported to China, ensuring output as well as profits for Thai farmers.
According to the President of Queen Frozen Fruit Co, Ltd, Chinese consumers are very fond of Thai durian. Total orders from this market exceeded 200,000 tons in 2023.
See more: Exporting the first batch of durian officially to China
Do not force the quantity but forget the quality
The granaries in Vietnam are also preparing to enter the harvest season. Orders from Chinese importers poured in. A durian export business in our country revealed that every month they export 1,000 tons of durian according to orders from their Chinese import partners.
At a forum to promote agricultural and food trade with China recently, Ms. Tra My - President of the Provisional Vietnamese Business Association in China also said that she brought an order of durian when she returned to this country. up to 150,000 tons.
However, she affirmed that the Chinese market is now as difficult as the US and Japan. Therefore, domestic enterprises should not "force" quantity but forget to ensure quality.
“The other day, I went to a durian warehouse and saw many fruits with insufficient number of segments, still worms, aphids on the shell. If we keep trying to close such containers, there is a high possibility that they will be returned, adversely affecting the reputation of the industry", Ms. My said.
Chanh Thu Fruit Export Group Joint Stock Company, revealed her intention to export 20,000-30,000 tons of durian to China in year 2023. Chánh Thu, tiết lộ dự tính xuất khẩu 20.000-30.000 tấn sầu riêng sang Trung Quốc trong năm 2023.
However, she is also worried about the quality of durian exported to the Chinese market today. Because, recently, the price of durian has increased to a record high, goods are scarce, some gardeners are running after profits, forcing the barn to buy bad goods, cutting young goods (beneficial in weight) but not selective. While traders are short of goods, they accept to buy all kinds of durian, regardless of quality.
“It took us many years to officially export durian to the Chinese market. Instead of making goods that meet export standards to gain market share, now they run after profits, massively buying low-quality and immature goods, which is like going back to the time of thinking about trade," she said.
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She also emphasized, it is impossible for the profit of 1-2 billion per trip to lose credibility and the relationship that has been built for many years.
Talking about the Chinese durian market, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said that Vietnamese durian has many competitive advantages compared to Thai and Philippine durian. He cited, Vietnam's durian output is now increasing to around 1 million tons, for harvesting almost all year round, while Thailand and the Philippines only harvest seasonally.
The shorter transportation distance from our country to China is also an advantage to help fresh Vietnamese durians, the shipping costs included in the price will be cheaper than competitors.
As a result, durian exports to China are expected to become a billion-dollar fruit. However, he also warned about the problem of cheating on planting area codes, packaging facilities, quality of exported goods, etc. If not doing well these issues will be difficult to expand market share in the Chinese market because of Vietnamese durian's competitors are getting stronger and stronger.
Source: Vietnamnet Newspaper