Vietnam’s durian exports hit a record of US$2.7 billion in January-September this year but the country also spent nearly $9 million importing durians from Thailand and Malaysia in January-August, surging nearly 11.6 times year on year, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association (Vinafruit) reported.

China was the biggest buyer of Vietnam’s durians in the nine-month period with $2.5 billion.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of Vinafruit, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) that Vietnam’s durians were consumed widely in foreign markets, especially China.

However, Vietnamese consumers have increasingly preferred durians imported from Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

This is normal consumption demand in not only Vietnam but also other countries.

For example, China can plant mangoes, dragon fruits, longans, and lychees but still imports these fruits.

Meanwhile, Thailand purchases durians from Vietnam despite being a leading durian exporter, Nguyen said.

Durians imported from Thailand and Malaysia are put up for sale at high prices at supermarkets and large stores in Ho Chi Minh City.

At a fruit store on Hai Ba Trung Street in District 1, Thailand’s Fumoni durians are priced at VND220,000-350,000 ($9-14) per kilogram, and Kanyao durians at VND450,000-700,000 ($18-27.5) per kilogram. 

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Black Thorn durians cost VND900,000-1 million ($35.4-39) per kilogram and Musang King durians are offered at VND600,000-900,000 ($23.6-35.4).

Lu Ha Thu, a sales employee at the store, said these products were carefully selected and were transported to Vietnam by air, so their prices were high. 

The main buyers of these durians are wealthy customers, Thu added.

In the year to September, Vietnam’s durian output reached nearly 985,000 metric tons, up almost 17 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The durian harvesting season falls in October in the Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai and Lam Dong and at the end of the year in the Mekong Delta.

The ministry estimated the country’s durian yield at over 1.2 million metric tons this year.

Vietnam is expected to generate over $3 billion in durian exports in January-October and $3.2 billion in the whole year, making up half of the total vegetable and fruit export value, according to Vinafruit.

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