Durian prices double as harvest draws to a close

Hoang, a durian merchant, said the harvest is ending in the Central Highlands, one of Vietnam’s largest durian-growing regions.

He and other traders had to procure off-season fruits from the Mekong Delta, another major growing area, but could not meet demand, he said.

"I used to be able to procure 10 tons (of durians) a day, but now I can only find a ton or two."

Durian exporters have had to raise their purchase prices and look for off-season supply in western provinces.

Hong, the owner of an orchard in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, said the weather has delayed the off-season harvest this year.

This has caused prices to rise much higher than during the main harvest in the Central Highlands from August to October.

"Traders are offering VND100,000 per kilogram even for lower grade Monthong durians," Hong said.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, expected durian prices to continue rising over the next few months due to higher demand from China, the top export market, as consumers there ramp up purchases for the year-end holidays and the Lunar New Year.

Vietnam has also received approval to export frozen durian to that country.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said both domestic and international demand for vegetables and fruits, including durian, usually rise in the last quarter of the year.

In the first 10 months of this year fruit and vegetable exports were worth approximately $6.4 billion, half of it from durian.

Full-year exports are expected to increase by 25% from last year to $7 billion, with durian accounting for a record $3.5 billion.

Vietnam shipped 500,000 tons of fresh durian worth $2.3 billion last year, 90% of which went to China.

It has 154,000 hectares under the fruit and produces nearly 1.2 million tons annually.