When it comes to the "best" in the fruit world, durian must be on the list. As a Southeast Asian fruit, durian is loved by some people because of its rich nutritional value and soft and sweet taste.
The folk have more saying that "one durian has three chickens, one is sold to two hundred and one", however, the high market price has always been a pain point for the people. Recently, Vietnam has also begun to export durian to China, which really makes Thailand sweat. Many people are curious, will there be a big price reduction in durian? Will the Chinese people usher in "durian freedom"?
The king of fruits - durian
Durian may be one of the most controversial fruits, although it is rich in nutritional value, but because of a "special" smell on the body, the outside world has "polarized" its evaluation. People who like it praise it, while those who hate it hate it. But in China, durian has a broad market, so what is the origin of this durian?
In fact, durian is native to Malaysia, it is a tropical fruit, limited by climatic conditions, mainly produced in Southeast Asia, among which, Thailand's golden pillow durian is the most famous, but the price is also very expensive. Durian is not only rich in nutritional value, but also has medicinal value. Therefore, this is also an important reason why it is loved by Chinese consumers.
Thailand, as China's main durian importer, is now facing challenges. Just on September 19 this year, Vietnam also began to export fresh durian to China, you must know that before this China's durian market was basically monopolized by Thailand, now Vietnamese durian is menacing, in such fierce market competition, can Thai durian still maintain its position?
Thai durian VS Vietnamese durian
As we all know, China is one of the countries with the largest imports of durian in the world, with a very broad market, accounting for 19% of the world's consumption. Among them, the import demand for durian in the two broad regions is the highest, accounting for 73.39% of the country. According to relevant data, China's durian imports reached US$3,426.6 million in 2022, and the overall import volume reached a new high. Due to the introduction of Vietnamese durian, the sales of Thai durian have also been impacted, so how much impact has the introduction of Vietnamese durian had on Thailand? Who is better Vietnamese durian or Thai durian?
Before the introduction of Vietnamese durian, Thailand was the only ASEAN country that could export fresh durian to China, while Vietnam could only export processed durian to China, such as durian sugar, dried durian and other processed products. Now the "little brother" has changed into a blatant "big brother", impacting the monopoly position of Thai durian in China, it can be said that Thailand really hates the root of the tooth.
Moreover, Vietnam durian has a geographical advantage, that is, Vietnam is closer to China's consumer market, which not only reduces transportation costs, but also ensures that durian can be listed on schedule, and the cost savings in the middle also highlight the advantages of Vietnamese durian.
But Thai durian can occupy a place in China's durian market for many years, and that is not boasting. Thailand's golden pillow durian is of excellent quality, full flesh, sweet and delicious, so it is deeply loved by the Chinese people, and in this regard, it is also unparalleled in Vietnamese durian.
So, whether it is Vietnamese durian or Thai durian, they all have their own advantages. But seeing this, some people may be curious that there is such a vast durian market in the mainland, so why not produce durian yourself and earn money into your own pocket? Why rely on imports?
The history of growing durian in China
Is it because China does not mass-produce durian because it does not want to, the answer is that the fruit durian is too squeamish and too difficult to serve. First of all, the growth environment is harsh, durian is a tropical fruit, the average temperature of growth must be maintained above 22 °C, the annual precipitation needs to reach more than 1000mm, and in the process of its growth can not occur special natural disasters, otherwise durian trees will soon die.
In China, there are only one or two places that meet this growing condition, and one of them is Hainan. China has introduced Thai durian planting in Hainan, and as a result, the durian tree barely grows, but it does not bear fruit, and only now, the durian grown in China has begun to have a new breakthrough. But in the face of such a huge market demand, China still has to rely on imports. The Southeast Asian countries closest to China are naturally the best choice for Chinese imported durian, such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.
Seeing this, some people may ask, now Vietnam has also begun to divide the big cake of China's durian market, then, under the fierce market competition between Thai durian and Vietnamese durian, will there be a big price reduction in China's durian market?
Why is durian so expensive?
This may disappoint ordinary Chinese people. Although Vietnamese durian has just entered China's durian market, according to relevant data, the market price of Vietnamese durian in the domestic fruit wholesale market is generally around 1000 yuan / box, while in the Jiangnan market in Guangzhou it reaches the price of 1100-1200 yuan / box. It is basically on par with Thai durian, and the low price that ordinary people crave does not exist at all.
The main reason why the price of durian has remained high is because durian itself has a high risk cost. For fruit farmers, it usually takes 6 to 7 years to cultivate and plant a fruitful durian tree, and if there is a typhoon in between, these fruit trees may die directly. But don't think that everything will be fine after surviving natural disasters, the difficulty of picking durians and the cost of picking are the "main play".
A mature durian tree can grow to a height of 20-40 meters, and picking often requires several growers to cooperate with each other. Durian is full of thorns, large in size, and easy to damage the flesh during the picking process, compared to other fruits, it cannot be picked by "shaking the fruit".
This also means that the picking process should be "extremely careful", which will also consume more manpower and material resources. During transportation, durian may also deteriorate due to bumps or weather conditions, and bad fruits will appear. Therefore, these invisible increases in costs are the culprits that lead to the high price of durian.
China's durian market is huge, and the supply of durian is far lower than the market demand, coupled with the impact of the epidemic in recent years, the difficulty of transportation has increased, the number of durians is scarce, and the price of natural durian has gone up. Therefore, if ordinary people want to achieve "durian freedom", there may be a long way to go.
At last:
The price of the durian market can not be solved simply by increasing the supply of durian, after all, the transportation costs and tariffs of imported fruits are a big expense.
Therefore, whether it is imported Thai durian or Vietnamese durian, it is not a perfect solution for the mainland durian market, the most important thing is to improve our own durian cultivation technology, and strive to achieve durian planting yield, so as to better ensure the supply of durian, but also to allow the Chinese people to achieve "durian freedom" as soon as possible!
Author: Eat La Xiaozheng Proofreading: Chuan Chuan
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