Vietnam's durian growing areas and packing factories qualified to export to China have now reached 876, and all have been issued codes by General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), creating favourable conditions for future durian exports to China, according to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

Vietnam's durians have the advantage of high production and year-round harvesting, as well as shorter shipping time to China. Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports rose 66.7 per cent year-on-year in 2023 as durian exports jumped to US$2.1 billion from US$288 million the year before, according to the GACC. Vietnam's durians are mainly exported to China, valued at $2.03 billion, accounting for 99.4 per cent of the country's total durian exports.

In the first two months of this year, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports continued to grow strongly by more than 70 per cent to $970 million, with products mainly including fresh coconuts, dragon fruits, pomelo, bananas, lemons, grapes, mangos and durians, although durians continue to be the most prominent product.

Procedures between Vietnam and China on market access for coconuts and frozen durians are now in the final stage and are expected to help push Vietnam's 2024 export turnover to $6.5 billion.

According to the Plant Protection Department of Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the area under durian cultivation in Vietnam's southern provinces reached 62,173 ha in early 2024; this figure is 15,000 ha higher than the same period last year, according to Invest. Current durian cultivation in the south-central coastal and central highland provinces stands at 57,101 ha, an increase of more than 19,200 ha year-on-year.

By 2025, durian market demand is expected to reach US$20 billion in China and US$28.6 billion globally. Vietnam's durian industry faces great opportunities if it develops in a sustainable way. In order to expand the durian export market, the industry has called on growers and enterprises to focus on improving quality and paying attention to preservation, primary processing and processing, in addition to expanding the area under cultivation, in order to increase the added value of their products.