(HSV VIETNAM GROUP) - Vietnam's official permission to export frozen durian to China has helped the billion-dollar industry "walk on two legs", towards sustainable development. However, to dominate the market, the Vietnamese durian industry will also have to face many challenges that are not easy to "resolve".
Exporting fresh fruit, exporting frozen durian, steps are more solid
Talking to Dan Viet about the Protocol to export Vietnamese frozen durian to China recently signed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Department of Customs of China, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association affirmed: "This is an important Protocol, opening up a future of sustainable development for the Vietnamese durian industry."
For a long time, the durian industry has still "walked on one foot" by only exporting fresh fruit, but with the signing of the export of frozen durian to China, we have "walked on both feet", and at the same time is a lever to help this billion-dollar industry develop stably and take more steadfast steps in the future.
"If currently we only earn foreign exchange from exporting fresh durian, then in the future we will earn more money from processing frozen durian.
This helps increase value for both businesses and durian growers," Mr. Nguyen said, adding that exporting frozen durian will contribute to stabilizing prices.
Looking back at Vietnam's fresh durian export process to China recently, Mr. Nguyen said that we have an advantage over Thailand and Malaysia in logistics. However, when switching to frozen durian, the geographical advantage no longer exists and at the same time, two issues emerge that will determine which country dominates the market, which are: Cultivation and preservation technology.
In 2023, in addition to spending about 6.7 billion USD to import fresh durian, China will also spend more than 1 billion USD to buy frozen durian mainly from Malaysia and Thailand. Therefore, when participating in exporting frozen durian, Vietnamese businesses will have to compete "fiercely" from the two countries above.
Musang King durian variety is the pride of Malaysia; Monthong is also very famous in Thailand. And Vietnam has Ri6 durian. However, Mr. Nguyen also frankly admitted that the quality and value of Ri6 durian cannot be compared with the above two types.
Since then, the General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said that in order to compete fairly, dominate the market, and to advance deeply and affirm the position of frozen durian, Vietnam first needs to improve durian varieties. In addition, the cultivation and harvesting stages must also be strictly controlled, ensuring compliance with regulations and recommendations of authorities.
"Entering the frozen durian playground, the seasonal factor is no longer there. Vietnam has durian sold all year round, but the value and brand are not as good as Malaysia and Thailand, while they only harvest a few months a year," Mr. Nguyen acknowledged.
According to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, when making frozen durian, the geographical advantage is no longer there, but two issues need to be focused: Cultivation and preservation technology.
According to Mr. Nguyen, the most important step when entering the frozen durian export playground is the "technology race". Any business with a modern freezing system will dominate the market.
Mr. Nguyen took examples from Thailand and Malaysia. After being separated, the durian is put into a 40-foot container, then deeply cooled with liquid nitrogen for only about 1 hour. In Vietnam today, mainly conventional freezing takes up to 8 hours. Thus, the yield, quality and flavor of durian will decrease due to too long freezing time.
"From this protocol, Vietnam will have to prepare to solve emerging problems in the durian industry, including standardizing durian varieties, upgrading freezing technology, and convenient environmentally friendly packaging. If the raw material source is available, if we process it well, deliciously, have beautiful, environmentally friendly packaging, we will be able to dominate the market," said Mr. Nguyen.
Increase durian export output by 70 - 80%
Talking to Dan Viet, Mr. Vu Duc Con, Chairman of the Durian Association of Dak Lak province, said that as the area and output of durian has increased rapidly in recent years, the fact that frozen durian is officially exported to China is not only a great advantage for the sustainable development of the province's durian industry but also of this industry in Vietnam. This will help reduce pressure from increased harvest output, storage and transportation to the border gate.
In fact, fresh durians that meet export standards to the Chinese market account for about 60% of the output harvested in the gardens. The remaining durians that do not meet fresh export standards will be used for domestic consumption, peeled and frozen or used to process other products such as ice cream, tea...
Therefore, when Vietnam can officially export frozen durian, it will help increase durian export output by 70 - 80%.
On the other hand, in cases where fresh fruit cannot be exported during the harvest season or the selling price is low, it can be frozen for export.
This will help reduce the pressure on fresh fruit consumption during the main season, proactively regulate products to the market, prolong product consumption time... Freezing also helps better monitor quality, limiting violations of the importing country's standards.
Also according to Mr. Con, by 2024, the durian area of Dak Lak province will reach about 34,000 - 35,000 hectares, with expected output of over 300,000 tons (mainly Dona durian varieties, the remaining Ri6). Dak Lak has risen to the top of the country in durian area and output, contributing greatly to the country's overall durian export turnover in 2023.
For a long time, the export direction of durian in the Central Highlands has been to export fresh fruit, serving the natural citrus needs of users. China has become the main durian import market from the Central Highlands and Vietnam, due to this consumption direction.
But fresh durian requires short transportation schedules and strict storage conditions, from cutting to selling to consumers in just 15 days. This leads to high costs, not high actual profits for farmers and many risks, especially when durian is ripe. If we change to the form of exporting frozen durian segments like Thailand, targeting different intensive processing standards, Dak Lak and Central Highlands durians will have completely different opportunities.
Even in the domestic market, fresh durian is still quite expensive, not all consumers can accept it and can buy it to eat regularly. Therefore, if we switch to processing frozen durian to serve intensive processing requirements, this product will no longer be dependent on seasonal seasons.
"Exporting officially frozen durian into the Chinese market will help this industry have more distribution directions, diversify markets, multilateral processing, attract many attractive investment projects into the area as well as make logistics connections to the outside more convenient," Mr. Con shared.
Agreeing with the views of the General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, Mr. Con said that to meet the requirements of importing countries and dominate the market, businesses and durian growers must improve the quality and productivity of durian fruits (from seeding and harvesting). In particular, it is necessary to pay attention to investing in a modern freezing system.
Ha Diem HSV