China becomes tough terrain for Vietnamese durian as inspections, competition rise

Containers of the fruit require up to a week for clearance at the border, up from just one or two days until now, as Chinese customs inspect 100% of all shipments for banned chemicals, meaning there is a risk of quality degradation.

Some of the consignments eventually pass inspection but the fruit is damaged or cracked by the time it reaches wholesale markets in China due to the long wait, one durian trader said.

This has forced fruit farmers in the Mekong Delta to lower their prices by 30% to VND35,000-70,000 (US$1.35-2.69) per kilogram, a third of last year’s rates.In the first two months durian exports to China plummeted by 83% year-on-year to $27 million.

The slowdown in exports is partly because businesses are wary and no longer dare to export in large volumes.

Many traders in durian-growing areas like Can Tho City and Ben Tre Province have stopped procuring the fruit fearing losses.

Vietnam’s market share in China has dropped from 62% to 37%, while Thailand’s jumped from 37% to 62.3%. This comes even though China applies equally strict inspections to Thai durian. The Thai government has implemented measures to ensure exports continue at high volumes.

China has intensified checks of Vietnamese durian for heavy metal residues and banned chemicals like auramine O – a dye typically used in farming and banned due to its cancer risk.

Warnings about fraudulent planting area codes and plant quarantine violations have also caused many firms to pause exports to address compliance issues.Besides, new competition from Laos, Indonesia and Cambodia has increased the challenges for them.

Laos’s Attapeu Province recently authorized three companies to cultivate over 273 hectares of commercial durian to supply China.

Chinese firms collaborated with the Lao Chamber of Commerce to form the Durian Business Association and set up a research center, securing 12,000 ha for specialized cultivation.Indonesia is accelerating its push into the billion-dollar market.

A durian picked from a farm in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. Photo by VnExpress/Manh Khuong

At 1.8 million tons of annual production, the world’s highest, Indonesia has had its plantations and packing facilities inspected by Chinese customs and is finalizing logistics and quarantine protocols. Its central Sulawesi Province alone has registered over 3,000 ha meeting export standards.

Cambodia is also entering the fray. In April it signed a protocol with China to export durians, bird’s nests, and farmed crocodiles, part of 37 new cooperation agreements that open doors for its agricultural sector.

"Since the Lunar New Year holidays in February we haven’t been able to resume exports to normal levels due to the prolonged procedures and long clearance times," Doan Van Ven, director of agriculture export firm Anh Thu Dak Lak Co in the Central Highlands, said.

Only a few new contracts have been finalized with Chinese buyers, he added.Some traders in the southern province of Tien Giang have stopped buying durian from farmers due to quality concerns. They want the government to roll out on-site testing mechanisms to reduce costs for both farmers and traders.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said exports of fruits and vegetables, particularly durian, to China is slowing sharply. China imported just $500 million worth of Vietnamese agricultural products in the first quarter, a 31% drop from a year earlier.

Fruit testing in Vietnam now takes a week, impacting quality. Exporters want it to be cut to three or four days and increase the number of testing centers approved by China.

They also recommend educating farmers on using compliant fertilizers and avoiding smuggled products with banned substances and cracking down on substandard fertilizer producers.Nguyen called for stronger intervention from the government to boost export recovery. "Why can we control diseases in livestock and poultry but not banned substances in durian?" he questioned.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien said sustainable methods are needed to ensure long-term growth of the durian industry.