In the first four months of this year, Thailand spent up to 22.5 million USD importing Vietnamese durian, a year-on-year surge of 82%. This figure is much higher than that of the third ranked market, China’s Hong Kong, with only 3.6 million USD.
In 2023, Hong Kong was the second largest import market with a turnover of 20 million USD, followed by China’s Taiwan with 16 million USD.
According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), in recent times, Thailand increased imports of Vietnamese durian because during that time, Vietnam was the only country supplying this kind of fruit in the world.
Although Thailand is the largest exporter of the fruit, its durian has decreased significantly in quantity and quality due to severe drought, so it has to buy this fruit from other countries to serve domestic and tourist needs.
In April, Vietnam earned 217 million USD from shipping durian abroad, up 487% against the same period last year./.
