In general, the overall price of durians in the northern market has improved in the first half of this year, rising compared with the same period last year. In addition to the recovery of the market after the pandemic, the marketing of online channels has greatly promoted the sales of durians.
The weather in northern China has been extremely hot recently. Due to the short shelf life of durians, the hot weather makes the quality unstable, and consumers tend to buy juicy seasonal fruits, so the consumption of durians in the market has slowed down recently. The imported fresh durians currently on the market come from Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Thailand is the first country to obtain a permit to export fresh durian fruit to China. From orchard management, harvesting, and logistics, to marketing, it is relatively mature in all aspects, with a broad range of varieties, and is well recognized among Chinese consumers. Recently, the price of Thai durians has risen. The price of high-quality products in the Xinfadi wholesale market in Gaobeidian is around 800-900 yuan/piece, with an average price of 37.5 yuan/kg. At present, the most popular products in the market are from southern Thailand, which is slightly worse in taste and quality than eastern products.
Last year, Vietnamese durian was approved to be exported to China, and the first batch entered customs early this year. After nearly a month of fluctuations, the price of Vietnamese durians basically stabilized. Prices are expected to drop as the central plateau enters peak picking season. At present, the price of Vietnamese Monthong is stable at a high level, and the price of Ri6 Kanyao durian has also rebounded.
Following Vietnamese durians, this year Philippine durians are also allowed to export to China. But in terms of export volume, in the first half of this year, Thai durian exports to China were 600,000 tons, Vietnamese durian was about 186,000 tons, and the Philippines’ durian exports to China were only 484 tons, accounting for a very small proportion of the market.
There are not many varieties of Vietnamese and Philippine durians currently on the market, and the taste is slightly inferior to Thai durians, and the price is also slightly lower. But fresh durians from these two origins have appeared on the market very quickly since they were approved to be exported to China. Although the volume on the market is not large at present, the enthusiasm of the importers is very high and they take a positive wait-and-see attitude.