Recently, durian merchants in Southeast Asia have really turned white.
During the peak durian sales season, the price of durian in the "Chinese market", which is the largest customer, has continued to fall, and the price of durian in supermarkets and fruit stores in many places has dropped by more than 20%.
On the streets of Nanning, Guangxi, there are even 5 "slap durians" for 100 yuan.
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The source of all this is because the mainland's native durian varieties have begun to enter the market on a large scale.
This kind of situation has worried many overseas manufacturers:
"I'm afraid China won't pay for the expensive Southeast Asian durian anymore."
The introduction of durian in China can be traced back to the 50s of the last century, but due to many reasons, this tropical fruit could not bloom and bear fruit smoothly in China.
It is not until 2023 that local durians begin to slowly enter the fruit market.
Although the cultivation of local durian was relatively smooth, the durian manufacturer at that time bluntly said that the output of durian could not be increased on a large scale for the time being, and it was still mainly "imported".
In this case, why is the price of durian "diving" so seriously after just one year?
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In recent years, many consumers have found that durian, the once elusive "king of fruits", has become more and more common.
Whether it is a large supermarket or a fruit store at the doorstep, the figure and smell of durian make it firmly occupy the "C position" of consumers' attention.
Many merchants also hang a big sign on it with the words "durian special" written on it to make it more conspicuous.
The word "special" on durian makes many consumers feel at a loss, after all, "expensive" was the first impression many people have of it.
Just this year, however, that preconceived notion has been reversed.
After the May Day holiday, related topics such as "a pound of durian fell below 10 yuan", "5 durians for 100 yuan", and "durian prices halved" fermented on the Internet.
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For this reason, someone specially investigated the relevant situation and found that many rumors on the Internet this time are really not groundless.
The proprietress of a fruit shop said:
"The price of durian has dropped very quickly recently, and the wholesale price will drop a little every day......"
The head of the fruit sales chain "Mr. Fruit" was also blunt:
"This year, durian prices are cheap, and small durians are more popular."
Many large and small businessmen who do fruit business have intuitive views on durian prices, confirming that this year's durian is indeed much cheaper than in 2023.
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And fruit merchants will have this idea, which is inseparable from the "big dive" of durian prices.
Back in early March this year, the first batch of durians began to enter the market.
At that time, the price of some good-quality varieties, such as the golden pillow, was once sold for 60 yuan per catty, that is, a medium-sized durian cost at least 300 yuan.
But by mid-April, the price had dropped to 40 yuan per catty, a drop of more than one-third.
After the May Day holiday, the durian market ushered in an explosive period, and the durian price of chain fresh stores such as Hema and Guoduomei was generally about 20-25 yuan per catty.
In other words, people can buy a durian in good condition for less than 100 yuan.
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Of course, there is no shortage of niche and expensive "premium durians" on the market.
For example, 699 a special blackthorn frozen durian, 288 a special Musang King frozen durian, 500 yuan a golden phoenix durian and so on.
But even so, durian merchants in Southeast Asia are still worried.
After all, the price of durian in the market, which has almost been cut in half, not only has the income of merchants shown a significant downward trend, but the durian market, which is about to oversupply, also seems to indicate that China will no longer pay for expensive Southeast Asian fruits.
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Durian has been famous in China for a long time, but before 2020, not many people had eaten it, except for the smell of durian itself, which was difficult for many people to accept, and its high price also discouraged many consumers.
But what everyone doesn't know is that when durian was just approved to enter China, the unit price of imports was not expensive.
As early as 2003, Thailand's "fresh durian" was approved to enter the Chinese market.
However, at that time, the transportation of durian was shackled by preservation technology, and it took a lot of manpower and material resources to transport it from the picking point to the sales point, and the price was naturally high.
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After 2015, the water-locking and fresh-keeping technology in fruit transportation has been greatly improved through technical means, and the reason why the price of durian remains high is because the price of exporting countries has risen extremely rapidly.
According to relevant data, the import unit price of durian in Thailand was 11.8/kg in 2015 and soared to 33.1/kg in 2021.
Although there is an impact on the exchange rate and cost, the three-fold increase in 6 years, not to mention "robbing while the fire is hot", is also a proper "lion's mouth".
At that time, durian had become an indispensable fruit in people's lives, and although the demand was not high compared to other common fruits, the annual consumption reached nearly one million tons.
In order to solve the uncontrolled price increase behavior of suppliers, the relevant departments decided to open the durian import channel in Vietnam.
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In 2022, Vietnam's fresh durian was approved by China, and in 2023, China's durian imports from Vietnam reached 500,000 tons, accounting for 34.59% of the total imports, an increase of 1,107% compared with 2022.
Subsequently, international cooperation deepened, and the opening of the China-Laos Railway opened the door for the import of fresh fruits and vegetables from ASEAN, and durians from Malaysia and the Philippines were also able to successfully enter the Chinese market.
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According to official data, China's imports of fresh durian in 2023 reached 1.42 million tons, with Thailand accounting for 65%.
Although it still dominates the four Southeast Asian countries, it has undergone significant changes from two years ago when Thailand was the dominant country.
At the same time, as countries that rely mainly on agricultural exports, countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia have expressed considerable importance to this "pouring wealth".
In just over a year, the number of Vietnamese durian manufacturers registered with China Customs has almost doubled, and some Japanese news has even said that the number of coffee beans exported by Vietnam is getting lower and lower, but the cultivation of durian is increasing year after year.
Where there is competition, there will be motivation, which is an eternal truth in any industry.
Just like the struggle of taxi software, food ordering software, and takeaway software in previous years, the ultimate beneficiary of the price war can only be consumers.
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In addition to the decline in durian prices caused by the involution of manufacturers, the progress of local durian farming is also very gratifying.
Records of durian date back six centuries.
Zheng He went to the West, once passed by the Malay Archipelago, and after a crew went to the island, he found durian and recorded it:
"There is a stinky fruit...... The skin is raw and spiky, and when cooked, five or six petals are cracked, like the smell of rotten beef. There are 14 or 5 pieces of chestnut crispy white meat inside, which is very sweet and edible......"
Zheng He originally wanted to bring durian planting back to China to breed, but it was difficult to grow durian in China.
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The fruit that was loved six centuries ago has not been successfully cultivated in China until the 21st century, which is undoubtedly a huge blow to Chinese who love farming.
Especially in the case of increasing consumer demand for durian, the cultivation of durian is even more imminent.
But it's really hard to grow in China.
Durian is a tropical fruit, and the closer to the equator, the better the growing environment, so Thailand, Vietnam and other places have unique advantages.
The tropical monsoon climate of Hainan, Guangxi and other southern provinces in the southernmost part of China does have certain advantages, but the annual typhoons and cold snaps are enough to make those tropical fruits live no more than a year.
The vast majority of fruit trees are unlikely to bear fruit in a short period of time, and the fruiting time of durian is about 8 years, and in China, even if you wait for 8 years, you may not be able to wait for durian trees to bloom and bear fruit.
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The high cost and lengthy time make it difficult for even many agricultural experts, let alone fruit farmers who rely on the weather for food.
Therefore, for a long time, fruit farmers have not been very enthusiastic about the cultivation of durian, and it has been in the experimental stage.
The real turning point came around 2018.
That year, the fruit trees in the mainland's relevant durian experimental fields began to bloom and bear fruit after decades of improvement.
The successful planting experience spread rapidly, and Hainan introduced durian grafted seedlings on a large scale.
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As of 2023, the planting area of durian in Hainan Province has reached 2,000 hectares, and the fruit-bearing area of that year is 93 hectares, with a total output of about 50 tons.
Experts estimate that the fruit-bearing area in 2024 should be 267 hectares, with a total production of about 250 tons.
You know, in 2023, the total amount of durian eaten by all consumers in China is 140 tons.
If the idea of "250 tons" can be established this year, China will be able to meet the demand of the market with only its own durian, and even achieve the phenomenon of oversupply.
At this point, we can also understand the durian in the market that has almost halved the price reduction.
The reduction of durian prices in China has spread to surrounding countries on a large scale.
According to Vn Express, a well-known news website in Vietnam, the price of unsorted durian in the Kowloon Plain and southeast of Vietnam has fallen sharply since May, with the price of golden pillows falling to 17.03-19.87 yuan per kilogram.
And this price is almost half of what it was when it was first launched in February.
When a large number of seasonal fruits enter the market, the price will definitely decrease, which is no longer a normal phenomenon.
However, the price of the commodity has almost halved, which is not common in the past, and it is even rarer to have an impact on the country's own fruit market.
Actually, this is understandable from another point of view.
China has the largest consumer market in the world, and if 1.4 billion people need to import all the needs of a single commodity, it will be a huge wealth for the exporting country.
But at the same time, if there is a change in the import and export of the Chinese market, it will be a huge crisis for the exporting country.
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At present, the change in durian prices has not caused an obvious butterfly effect, but the subsequent policies of the mainland on the import and export of durian will definitely be affected by the changes in domestic supply and demand.
For example, Thailand is one of the world's leading durian exporters, but 96% of their durians are exported north to China.
Since Vietnam received approval for durian imports from China, the annual sales of durian exports have increased almost tenfold, and for this reason, Vietnamese fruit farmers have been expanding their durian fields every year to increase the amount of fruit.
The Philippines is the third country to be approved to sell fresh durians to China, and the green channel set by China will generate US$150 million in revenue for Philippine durian exports and create more than 10,000 jobs.
The premise for these Southeast Asian countries to succeed in making huge profits is the support of China's policies, the love of consumers and the blankness of the durian market.
Nowadays, the international situation is complex, and the local durian has begun to shine again, although the imported durian has advantages, but with the improvement and update of domestic varieties, the dilemma of "foreign durian" may be in the near future.
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There is a saying in China: "The rice bowl of the Chinese should be firmly in the hands of our Chinese themselves", which is not only applied to food, but also to all walks of life.
Durian is not a rigid product in China, but consumers are growing year after year, and the market for durian is naturally expanding.
Nowadays, the status of Southeast Asian durian in China is precarious, and what is reflected behind a small durian is China's great progress in grasping the initiative in imports.
Blueberries, grapefruits, avocados, sunshine rose grapes, cherries, these once "foreign high-end" marketing scams, apparently have become ineffective against Chinese.
Since durian is not the first, it will definitely not be the last.
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Resources:
Beijing Business Daily: "The Ripples Stirred Up by an Affordable Durian"
International Business Daily: "Durian Track, Four ASEAN Countries Strive to "Compete for Freshness"
China Fruit Industry Information: Hainan: Orderly Expansion of Durian Planting Scale
Author: Again, and double
Editor: Ichiyigi