Durian prices are low because of reduced quality, many sellers are lowering prices to sell their goods, even in some places for only 30,000 VND/kg. However, this price can only be "counted on the fingers", and is usually for seedless durian, bad, small fruit.

Durian Currently, it is mainly from the Central Highlands (harvested from late July to late September), mostly from Dak Lak and Gia Lai. The goods dumped in retail on the sidewalks of Ho Chi Minh City are mostly goods that do not meet export standards, so the quality is quite hit or miss.

Good and bad, much cheaper than last year

In recent days, social networks have spread images of a super cheap durian business location, only 30,000 VND/kg in Ho Chi Minh City. However, according to the records of Tuoi Tre Online On the afternoon of August 20, this address was temporarily suspended.

Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Linh - who claims to be a relative of the owner of this cheap durian shop - said that this cheap durian is of the old durian variety (large-seeded durian) and is in limited quantity, because the gardeners have switched to growing varieties with higher economic value such as Ri6, Chuong Bo and Thai durian.

"Normally, this type of durian costs 40,000 VND/kg, but because it is the last fruit in the batch, I decided to sell it at a lower price to avoid waste. Although the price is cheap, the durian is still delicious, fatty and fragrant, although it has fewer segments and less flesh than other types," Ms. Linh explained.

However, this durian is currently at the end of the season and is in short supply, so the family has temporarily stopped selling super small durian at a price of 30,000 VND.

Note Tuoi Tre Online On the afternoon of August 20, not only at street vendors, sidewalks, durian is now being sold by many people on online markets such as Facebook, Zalo... The selling price is quite diverse, with about 35,000 - 40,000 VND/kg of seeded durian; flat-seeded varieties such as Ri6 durian cost 60,000 - 70,000 VND/kg, Thai durian costs 70,000 - 90,000 VND/kg; Musang King durian is more delicious so the price is 100,000 - 140,000 VND/kg.

Having just sold 50kg of durian in one day, Mr. Nguyen Van Linh (Phu Nhuan district) said that over the past week he has sold nearly 400kg of durian, most of which was posted online and a few were sold directly on the sidewalk.

Accordingly, the selling price for seedless durian is from 60,000 - 85,000 VND/kg, durian pulp (shelled) is 150,000 - 220,000 VND/kg depending on the type.

"This year, many gardeners bring more products to the market, so the selling price is more reasonable, and customers also buy more to enjoy. In fact, my selling price has decreased by 30-35% compared to last year," Mr. Linh compared.

Is it true that durian falls?

Note of Tuoi Tre Online shows that although durian is starting to enter season in the Central Highlands provinces, the price is said to be "reasonable" with a common price of 60,000 - 100,000 VND/kg, many people still feel that this price is quite "expensive".

At the angle Consumer, Ms. Nguyen Thi Trang (living in District 4) admits to loving durian and even though the price has dropped a lot this year, she has not dared to spend a lot of money.

"Although the price is said to be better than last year, currently at 60,000 - 70,000 VND/kg, a 3 - 4kg durian is already 200,000 - 300,000 VND, not a small amount. Now I only dare to eat the small durian that costs 30,000 - 40,000 VND/kg to remember the smell and ease my cravings," Ms. Trang humorously said.

Mr. Pham Van Bao - who has been selling durian on Phan Van Tri Street for nearly 17 years - shared that his store used to sell 300 - 400kg of durian per day, but now only sells about 100kg.

However, according to Mr. Bao, customers must consider carefully before deciding to buy durian, because the price and quality are a matter of luck. On average, each fruit costs from 200,000 to 300,000 VND, with large, delicious fruits being up to 400,000 to 500,000 VND/kg, if the fruit is not delicious, it is considered a heavy loss.

"This year, there are many goods brought down from the Central Highlands, and the price is cheaper than every year, mainly because the quality of durian is poor, making it more difficult to meet export standards. The poor quality is mainly due to the recent heavy rains, which have caused the fruit to be hard and not ripen evenly," Mr. Bao noted, but also said that many delicious durians were discarded because of their bad appearance.

In addition, many sellers advertise "fallen durian" and "naturally ripened". However, some sellers claim that except for seeded durian (most of which fall naturally and ripen on tall trees), not all durians wait to fall, and in some cases, gardeners and traders actively cut them when they are ripe. If not cut properly, the quality of the pulp inside can be damaged.