Some 300,000 tons of Vietnamese dragon fruit will soon be ripe for harvest, but there are no buyers as China clamps down on border trade. With the northern provinces of Quang Ninh and Lang Son having both restricted trade at the border with China due to containers pilling up, many Chinese buyers have stopped purchasing Vietnamese dragon fruit.
Dragon fruit prices have dropped in the last few weeks as China tightened its Covid-19 measures that caused thousands of container trucks to get stuck at the border. Some exporters said they have tried to transport goods via sea but this is not a sustainable solution, as shipping fees have surged three times from before.
According to e.vnexpress.net, China has been the biggest buyer of Vietnamese agriculture produce and dragon fruit for years. Dragon fruit exports to China exceeds that of 50 other markets, said Nguyen Khac Huy, CEO of Hoang Phat Fruit in Long An Province.
Support package
The Vietnamese government has just submitted a support package of VND350 trillion (US$15.43 billion) for socio-economic recovery and development to the National Assembly. This is the largest stimulus package in history up to this point, with the expectation that the entire economy will overcome the pandemic, ensuring that no one is left behind.
While the National Assembly was meeting to discuss the support package, thousands of container trucks carrying fruit have been stuck at the Northern border gates from the beginning of December 2021 to now.
Source: sggpnews.org.vn