China’s durian market ripens as Thailand loses ground, Vietnam and Philippines get a taste

China’s imports of durians soared last year, but its main supplier, Thailand, has been losing market share as the world’s chief buyer of the pungent tropical fruit lets in exports from Vietnam and the Philippines.

China imported 1.4 million tonnes of durian in 2023, up 69 per cent from the previous year according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.

Thailand’s share of those imports, in US dollar terms, dropped from almost 100 per cent in 2021 to 95.36 per cent a year later and 67.98 per cent last year.

Vietnamese durian exports to China went from near zero to a 4.63 per cent share at US$188.1 million in 2022, and soared to 31.82 per cent last year for a total value of US$2.1 billion.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Vietnamese exports of the fruit worldwide reached 4.9 per cent of the total by volume in 2022 at 40.88 million kilograms, adding Vietnam’s share was less than 1 per cent the previous year and zero before that.

Vietnam is aiming to reach US$3.5 billion in durian turnover this year- a surge of 55 per cent from last year – by tapping deeper into the Chinese market, the country’s Department of Foreign Information projected last week.

More than 90 per cent of durian exports reach China, HSBC said in a research report last year.

Many Vietnamese farmers have replanted fields and bought new equipment to switch to growing durians, said Nguyen Thanh Trung, a political scientist at Fulbright University Vietnam.

05:57

Our reporter had never tried durian, so we sent her to sample everything at a durian buffet

“Vietnamese farmers know how to rotate crops and lengthen the harvest,” Nguyen said. “Durian is considered a cash crop in Vietnam and it can bring a lot of benefits. The farmers