Vietnam pins high hopes on the possibility of exporting durians to India, the country with the second-largest population in the world, following a success in the Chinese market.

The export of durians to India will help reduce Vietnam’s dependence on the northern neighbor and open up new opportunities for local farm produce, Le Van Thiet, deputy head of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday.

China is currently the largest buyer of Vietnam’s durians.

However, the great reliance on a unique market poses various risks.

As a result, the expansion to the Indian market is good news for Vietnam’s durian sector, Thiet said.

Vietnam is waiting for India’s ratification of a protocol on the official export of Vietnamese durians to the South Asian market, the official informed.

India’s requirements are not as strict as those in China and transport costs by sea are lower.

Therefore, India is a potential market for Vietnamese durians, according to Thiet.

He emphasized the importance of the durian quality improvement and the management of durian planting area codes.

Vietnam exported US$500 million worth of durians in the first four months of this year, surging 30 percent year on year, mainly to the Chinese market, said Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association.

Nguyen claimed that China is a leading importer of Vietnamese fruits, especially durians, as Vietnam has advantages in the availability of durians all year round.

He estimated China’s demand for durian imports at $3 billion this year.

In 2023 alone, China spent $2.1 billion importing nearly 500,000 metric tons of Vietnamese durians.

The market expansion is crucial but the durian quality is a decisive factor, according to Ngo Tuong Vy, CEO of Chanh Thu Fruit Export - Import Group JSC.

With good quality, Vietnamese durians will be preferred in many markets in the future, Vy added.

Vietnam has shipped durians to 22 countries and territories, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The total area of durian farms in Vietnam jumped fivefold to over 150,000 hectares last year from 32,000 hectares in 2015.

The durian output also soared to more than 1.2 million metric tons from 366,000 metric tons, respectively.

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