Not meeting export standards, will durian flood the market?

Many localities in the province are simultaneously entering the durian harvest season. Previously, many gardeners were given deposits by traders and offered high prices to harvest durian to supply to the export market. However, when the harvest season came, traders came to the garden to inspect and could not buy or bought at low prices because the rate of durian being unripe was high, due to the adverse effects of the weather.

Traders harvest durian in the durian export growing area in Hang Gon ward. Photo: B,Nguyen

According to cooperatives and durian traders in the province, every year at this time, durian warehouses for export are bustling with trucks coming in and out to import goods. But in 2025, in the past few weeks, durian exporting enterprises have been operating at a slow pace, even temporarily suspending imports for many days because the durians are unripe and do not meet export standards. Meanwhile, many durian growing areas have begun to harvest, and the durian market is facing the risk of a market glut.
fall in price

Durian prices drop due to being unripe

Durian is a high-value commodity due to its good export performance. Accordingly, before the durian harvest season, most gardeners are evaluated by traders and then negotiate a purchase price. If both parties agree, the trader puts down a deposit and sets a date to harvest the durian. This form is called buying "young durian" in the garden-reserving style.

According to durian farmers in the province, Dong Nai 's durian harvest is concentrated from May to July every year. In 2025, the weather is erratic, so many localities are just entering the harvest season, 1-2 months later than usual, depending on the production area. Late durian harvests have resulted in lower productivity and fruit quality than usual. In particular, in recent weeks, durian buyers have inspected their gardens and discovered that the durians were hard due to prolonged heavy rains near the time when the fruit was about to be harvested.

Due to not meeting export standards, durian prices have dropped sharply. Specifically, the current price of Ri 6 durian sold at the garden ranges from 25-27 thousand VND/kg; Thai durian that meets export standards ranges from 55-65 thousand VND/kg depending on the region and locality. However, in reality, after checking and finding that the durian was hard, traders paid a much lower price than the price previously agreed with farmers.

The province currently has about 22,300 hectares of durian. Many localities have established large-scale durian growing areas that meet export market standards.

Ms. Dang Thi Thuy Nga, Director of Xuan Dinh Agricultural Service and Trade Cooperative (Xuan Dinh commune), is worried that the recent durian harvests have caused the cooperative to continuously lose capital due to harvesting at farmers' gardens at a price of more than 60,000 VND/kg. When checking the warehouse, they found many unripe fruits, with a low proportion of unripe fruits, so the import price has also decreased by 30-50% compared to the price of grade 1 durian that meets export standards; the proportion of unripe fruits is high, the warehouse cannot import goods, the cooperative has to send durian to many places to sell as peeled durian at a price of more than 30,000 VND/kg, and even has to sell durian to make ice cream at a price of less than 20,000 VND/kg.

With about 350 hectares granted export growing area codes, Phu Son Agricultural Service Cooperative (Phu Lam commune) is the cooperative with the largest durian growing area in the province today. Director of Phu Son Agricultural Service Cooperative Tran Van Son commented that durian gardens that are harvested early, although their productivity and quality are not as good as previous years, are still sold at high prices, and farmers still make good profits. However, durian gardens that are newly harvested are all experiencing hard flesh and watery fruits due to the effects of heavy rain. Even when the cooperative buys Thai durian for its members at a price of only about 35,000 VND/kg, it still loses money because export warehouses do not import goods because they do not meet standards; trucks with a high rate of hard durian are forced to sell them for ice cream, at a price of only 15,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Son compared that in 2024, many gardeners had a rate of durian harvested that met export standards of 70-80% of the durian output in the garden. But this year, due to unfavorable weather conditions, gardeners only achieved a rate of 30-40% of grade 1 durian that met export standards. One of the reasons is that this year, businesses buying durian for export have checked the fruit quality more strictly than in previous years, because the standards of the export market are increasingly high.

The chain link is easily broken.

Currently, durian purchasing activities in some growing areas in the province are stagnant because farmers do not accept low prices, and traders do not buy because they are worried about losing capital. Accordingly, many durian exporting enterprises are also operating at a standstill because they do not have enough durian sources that meet export quality.

Many durian export warehouses in Long Khanh ward are operating at a low level.

Ms. Dang Thi Thuy Nga shared that the information that durian prices have dropped due to traders forcing farmers to lower prices is not true. The main reason for the decrease in durian prices is that the fruit is unripe and does not meet export quality standards. The cooperative is also facing many difficulties because it is worried about losing the deposit money for farmers when it cannot buy at the previously agreed price; and if it continues to buy, it will surely suffer heavy losses. Meanwhile, many durian growing areas are starting to harvest, the situation of farmers not selling due to low prices will lead to a big risk of this commodity flooding the market. Because currently, many warehouses for exporting durian are operating at a low level, even temporarily stopping operations for many days.

Commenting on the durian export market, Director of Hoa Hanh Fruit Import-Export Company Limited (Long Khanh Ward) Hoang Thi My Ngoc said that in 2025, durian export activities will be more difficult, and the domestic consumption market will also be slower. One of the reasons is that importing countries will tighten technical barriers with more stringent standards. These are also the reasons why durian prices in 2025 will decrease compared to the same period in 2024. Therefore, in the coming time, businesses must rebuild stricter standards in testing and selecting durian for export. In addition to this reason, durian quality that does not meet export standards also causes businesses to reduce export orders.

Chairman of the Dong Nai Province Durian Association Tran Hai Son said that many localities in the province are in the peak harvest season, so the durian output supplied to the market is very large. The agricultural sector is interested in encouraging and supporting the construction of chains linking durian production to consumption. However, in reality, the chains are not really sustainable, so when the market fluctuates, this link is easily broken. Many solutions are needed to build truly sustainable durian production - consumption chains. In particular, the participating parties need to clearly understand their responsibilities and must build trust through reputation as the foundation for connection in the chain.

Binh Nguyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202507/khong-dat-chuan-xuat-khau-sau-rieng-se-doi-cho-6be2336/