Viet Reader.

VR.

Premier Newspaper for Vietnamese Worldwide

Vietnamese dragon fruit in China has not lost its attraction

Vietnamese dragon fruit in China has not lost its attraction

Vietnamese dragon fruit import into China awaiting customs clearance in Pingxiang, Guangxi. Photo: TL.

Many Chinese newspapers and news sites reported that the consumption demand and price of dragon fruit in this market increased sharply in the context of limited imports.

Demand for dragon fruit is still high

According to China Daily - China's largest English newspaper - the country's demand for high-quality dragon fruit products is increasing, of which Vietnam is a major source of imports.

Currently, Guangxi TWT is a large fruit importer based in Nanning city, Guangxi province and specializes in importing Vietnamese dragon fruit through areas bordering Lang Son province.

According to data from Guangxi TWT, in 2021 Vietnam exports about 1.04 billion USD of dragon fruit, up to 925.5 million USD is from the Chinese market, accounting for about 89%.

However, from the beginning of 2022, stricter pandemic prevention measures have greatly reduced the ability to import fruits and dragon fruit in particular. Faced with such predicament, Guangxi TWT and other Chinese traders have been looking for solutions to the problem.

As a result, since the end of February, at the Po Chai - Tan Thanh border gate area, the "container cutting" option has been used to speed up customs clearance.

According to Mr. Wang Zhengbo, Chairman of Guangxi TWT, this transport model has improved customs clearance efficiency, reduced logistics costs and brought obvious benefits to merchants.

“We should ensure smoothness of the supply chain and cross-border transportation of imported agricultural products. In addition, it is also necessary to ensure that pandemic prevention measures are in line with the requirements by the Chinese Government and ASEAN countries," said Mr. Wang.

Although still importing a lot of dragon fruit, the growing area of ​​this fruit in China is also increasing rapidly. According to China Daily, by the end of 2020, the growing area of ​​dragon fruit in China will reach 35,555ha, equal to that of Vietnam.

According to China Ministry of Commerce, with the current popularity of dragon fruit, the growing area of ​​this tree by the end of 2021 will be 40,000 hectares. In China, dragon fruit is grown mainly in Guangxi and Guangdong, accounting for 60% of the country's area

The option of "container cutting" during customs clearance is highly regarded by traders for its efficiency. Photo: Tung Dinh.

Vietnamese dragon fruit price still on the rise

On some online sales websites in China, Vietnamese dragon fruit price ranges from 29 yuan to 79 yuan. The 79-yuan type is placed in a box, each box has 6 fruits with each fruit weighing from 300-350g, red or white flesh (about 130-150 thousand VND/kg). According to Chinese traders in Pingxiang city, Guangxi province, currently red flesh dragon fruit is slightly favored, because Chinese people like the color red.

The Chinafruitportal website citing dragon fruit importing sources, confirmed that the price of this fruit is increasing 3-4 times in the Chinese market. The reason may be that Covid-19 makes it harder for Chinese residents to access Vietnamese dragon fruit.

The online newspaper Sohu said that Covid-19 is causing a contradiction when Vietnamese farmers had to cut down dragon fruit due to the low price, while the attraction of this fruit in China has not lost.

According to this newspaper, one of the solutions is that China Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to mobilize agricultural businesses in this country to increase shipping by sea, to localities far from Vietnam such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, Shenzhen, Zhejiang, Hubei. These are localities with seaports and the people also love Vietnamese dragon fruit.

According to Chinese statistics, by the end of 2021, only one province of Binh Thuan in Vietnam has an output of over 33,000 tons of dragon fruit. Binh Thuan's annual dragon fruit output is about 700,000 tons.

In Guangxi, Mr. Thang Thanh Vy, Chairman of Pingxiang International Fruit Association, said that dragon fruit is being purchased because the price is three times higher than before the Lunar New Year. “Currently, the tropical fruit is sugar orange, which has passed the harvest season and dragon fruit is a timely substitute for people. In past trading sessions, there was never a time when the price of dragon fruit did not increase sharply," said Mr. Thang.

According to a businessman with many years of experience in dragon fruit trading, the reason why Vietnamese dragon fruit has increased sharply is due to "superior quality, attractive price". Meanwhile, dragon fruit grown in China does not dominate in terms of sweetness, coolness, the price is also too high - even if the price of Vietnamese dragon fruit increases by 3 times, it is still lower than that of China domestic dragon fruit.

On the other hand, it is expected that by the end of 2022, the output of Chinese dragon fruit will still not be enough to meet domestic demand and must rely mainly on imports from Vietnam.

The financial page of Sina online newspaper forecasted that in the near future, price of Vietnamese dragon fruit will continue to increase.

Vietnamese dragon fruit is popular in the Chinese market. Photo: Tung Dinh.


According to the latest report by Lang Son province, as of 8 pm on March 31, there are still 1,401 trucks left at the provincial border gate areas, including 1,101 fruit trucks.

Also on March 31, 60 trucks were exported from Vietnam to China, of which 43 fruit trucks were cleared at Tan Thanh border gate and 17 other (6 trucks at Huu Nghi and 11 trucks at Tan Thanh).

On the other hand, there were 66 trucks imported from China into Vietnam on March 31, including 30 at Huu Nghi and 36 at Tan Thanh.

Currently, Chi Ma border gate is temporarily suspending customs clearance. Meanwhile, Dong Dang Station still maintains a stable import and export volume, as of March 31, there were 66 export cars and 51 import cars.


Authors: Tung Dinh - Van Viet

Translated by Nguyen Hai Long

About author
You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page.
View all posts
More on this story