Chinese traders rush to buy goods, fruits and vegetables set new price levels

Many kinds of vegetables and fruits have increased in price sharply.

Soursop farmers in the Mekong Delta are busy harvesting the fruit and selling it for 18,000-25,000 VND/kg, an increase of about 6,000-10,000 VND/kg compared to the same period last year. This price has been maintained since the beginning of 2023 until now. The reason is that China has increased its purchases and domestic consumption is also favorable.

In Quang Ngai, chili peppers are not only in season but also have high prices as traders are buying them up to export to China. Chili farmers are excited to harvest the first crop of fruits and sell them for 35,000 VND/kg, enough to cover their investment capital. Therefore, they earn quite a profit this chili season.

Similarly, after the first official export of durian to the Chinese market (September 2022), the price of this fruit increased sharply. There was a time when durian was purchased at the garden at a record high of 150,000-190,000 VND/kg.

Although durian prices have cooled down from their peak, they are still high. Durian from Western gardens is purchased by businesses to export to China at prices ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 VND/kg depending on the type.

Durian prices remain high (Photo: Tam An)

At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on March 31, Mr. Le Van Duc - Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - said that durian prices tend to increase when exports to China are favorable.

In recent months, China has increased the import of Thai jackfruit, causing the price of this fruit to skyrocket from being as cheap as vegetables to becoming expensive. In the provinces of Hau Giang, Soc Trang, An Giang, Dong Thap, Vinh Long,... the warehouses buy jackfruit at 39,000-42,000 VND/kg for grade 1, grade 2 at 29,000-31,000 VND/kg; grade 1 cream jackfruit costs 32,000-33,000 VND/kg, grade 2 costs 23,000-24,000 VND/kg. The purchase price at the garden is about 2,000 VND/kg lower than at the warehouse.

According to information from the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the fruit market in some southern provinces maintained stable prices for dragon fruit, watermelon, and oranges; increased prices for mangoes, while durian prices remained high.

Specifically, in Tien Giang, the price of watermelon is 8,000 VND/kg; red-fleshed dragon fruit is 24,000 VND/kg and white-fleshed dragon fruit is 22,000 VND/kg. The price of Cat Hoa Loc mango in Tien Giang is 84,000 VND/kg, an increase of 11,000 VND/kg compared to last month; Cat Chu mango is 38,000 VND/kg, an increase of 3,000 VND/kg. Durian is at a high price of 102,000 VND/kg, an increase of 8,000 VND/kg compared to last month.

The continuous increase in fruit and vegetable prices and the establishment of a new level have helped farmers move from losses to high profits. Recently, durian and dragon fruit growers have had the opportunity to make a fortune when the prices of these fruits have soared to historic highs.

Fruit and vegetable trucks congested at the border gate, China extended customs clearance time

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, fruit and vegetable exports in the first quarter of 2023 reached 935 million USD, up 10.6% over the same period last year. Fruits and vegetables have become a bright spot in the agricultural sector in the context of negative growth in export turnover of key commodity groups.

In the first two months of this year, China held the top position in the fruit and vegetable export market of Vietnam, accounting for 56.7% of the total fruit and vegetable export value of our country. Items such as durian, jackfruit, watermelon,... have seen a sharp increase in export turnover, most of which is exported to China.

Trucks carrying fruits and vegetables exported to China increased sharply (Photo: Thach Thao)

Speaking to VietNamNet reporter, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that China officially reopened its borders from January 8, 2022, creating momentum for export recovery. Along with that, the advantages from the protocols that Vietnam signed with China on official exports helped the export of durian, sweet potato, and passion fruit become increasingly favorable.

“Thanks to that, the prices of many types of fruit have increased significantly since the beginning of the year. This is a good sign,” he said.

In our country, many fruits are in harvest season such as durian, jackfruit, dragon fruit, etc., so the number of vehicles from localities pouring into Lang Son border gate to complete export procedures to China has increased. In particular, at the end of March, there was a situation of local congestion of agricultural vehicles exporting to China.

To facilitate import and export activities, recently, the leader of the Dong Dang - Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone Management Board said that the Chinese side agreed to increase daily customs clearance time from 7am to 7pm (an increase of 1 hour compared to before), and even support customs clearance for imported goods until 10pm.

Authorities of the two countries have agreed to separate the flow of vehicles carrying empty goods from the flow of goods at Huu Nghi border gate, thus improving import and export traffic.

Industry experts say that China's reopening will help fruit and vegetable exports explode in 2023. It is forecasted that fruit and vegetable exports to China could reach at least 2.5 billion USD this year.

China is gradually tightening unofficial imports and shifting to official channels, requiring increasingly high quality of imported fruits and vegetables. To export to the billion-people market, in addition to improving product quality, businesses and gardeners must comply with and strictly control the codes of growing areas and packaging facilities. Because, if there is just one problem, the entire shipment will be returned or even "banned", the leader of the Plant Protection Department warned.