There needs to be regulations on durian quality standards to compete and maintain the export market. (Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper)

Vietnamese durian has the advantage of "being alone in the market"

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first 8 months of 2023, fruit and vegetable exports reached 3.45 billion USD, an increase of 57.5% over the same period last year. Thus, the above figure has exceeded the fruit and vegetable export turnover of the whole year of 2022 (3.16 billion USD) and with the growth rate, it can surpass the record of 3.81 billion USD in 2018.

Notably, with the export turnover of 1.2 billion USD, accounting for 30% of the total export turnover of fruits and vegetables in the first 8 months of 2023, durian is the commodity group that contributes the most to the record of fruits and vegetables.

In particular, the growth of this fruit is expected to continue because this is an advantage for Vietnam when durian in other Southeast Asian countries is out of season.

Mr. Hoang Trung - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development commented that the main durian crop in the Central Highlands has a very large output and area and is out of season compared to other countries. From September, almost only Vietnam has a durian crop and this is an advantage for export.

Up to now, there have been more than 300 durian growing area codes and nearly 100 packing facility codes. Therefore, it is completely possible to fully meet the export needs for durian areas and output in the Central Highlands region in a convenient way.

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - said that September is the time when the largest durian region in the country - the Central Highlands - enters the peak harvest season. Meanwhile, durian in other countries is at the end of the season, with limited output or only frozen products. Therefore, fresh durian from Vietnam has more opportunities to increase export turnover. It is forecasted that the export value of durian in 2023 may exceed 1.5 billion USD.

Besides positive signals about the market and selling prices after obtaining an "export passport" to the Chinese market, the durian industry also faces many fluctuations and insecurities when it is constantly warned about violations of plant quarantine, quality is not guaranteed when the segments are unripe, the fruit is rotten and cannot ripen because the fruit is cut prematurely.

The reason for this situation is that there are times when prices are high, traders buy goods strongly, garden owners take advantage of selling goods at high prices by cutting all the garden at once, so the percentage of young fruit is very high.

According to experts, the current problem with the quality of exported durians and the chaotic market are partly due to the greed of garden owners and traders; however, the main responsibility lies with export packaging facilities.

On the other hand, the biggest problem of the Vietnamese durian industry today is that there are no regulations to control quality. Meanwhile, in Thailand, farmers are trained very carefully about the cultivation process, from the time the tree flowers and releases pistils, they have to record, tie a string to mark, when the fruit is ripe, they have to cut the fruit to check, if the quality is guaranteed, then they are allowed to cut and sell to businesses. Because of this management method, Thai durian has consistent quality.

According to fruit exporters, while the import price of Thai and Vietnamese durian is often the same, if you make Thai products, you can rest assured about the quality and appearance. This situation is causing the reputation of Vietnam's billion-dollar export fruit to decline, making it difficult to maintain a sustainable export market.

Exports are gradually regaining growth momentum.

According to the latest data from the General Statistics Office, in August 2023, the export and import turnover of goods is estimated at 60.92 billion USD, up 6.7% over the previous month and down 7.9% over the same period last year. In the first 8 months of 2023, the total export and import turnover of goods reached 435.23 billion USD, down 13.1% over the same period last year, of which exports decreased by 10%; imports decreased by 16.2%.

Specifically, exports in August 2023 are estimated at 32.37 billion USD, up 7.7% over the previous month. Of which, the domestic economic sector reached 8.43 billion USD, up 8.7%; the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) reached 23.94 billion USD, up 7.3%. Compared to the same period last year, the export turnover of goods in August 2023 decreased by 7.6%, of which the domestic economic sector decreased by 2.5%, the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) decreased by 9.3%.

In the first 8 months of 2023, the total export turnover of goods is estimated at 227.71 billion USD, down 10% over the same period last year. Of which, the domestic economic sector reached 59.92 billion USD, down 9.2%, accounting for 26.3% of total export turnover; the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) reached 167.79 billion USD, down 10.3%, accounting for 73.7%. Notably, in the past 8 months, there were 30 items with an export turnover of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 91.8% of total export turnover (there were 5 items with an export turnover of over 10 billion USD, accounting for 58.4%).

Regarding the structure of export goods in the first 8 months of 2023, the group of fuel and minerals is estimated at 2.82 billion USD, accounting for 1.2%; the group of processed industrial goods is estimated at 201.31 billion USD, accounting for 88.4%; the group of agricultural and forestry products is estimated at 17.87 billion USD, accounting for 7.9%; the group of aquatic products is estimated at 5.71 billion USD, accounting for 2.5%.

On the other hand, the import turnover of goods in August 2023 is estimated at 28.55 billion USD, up 5.7% compared to the previous month, but down 8.3% compared to the same period last year. In the first 8 months of 2023, the import turnover of goods is estimated at 207.52 billion USD, down 16.2% compared to the same period last year. In the first 8 months of 2023, there were 37 imported items with a value of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 89.9% of the total import turnover (there were 2 imported items with a value of over 10 billion USD, accounting for 38.8%).

Regarding the import and export market of goods in the first 8 months of 2023, the United States is Vietnam's largest export market with an estimated turnover of 62.3 billion USD. China is Vietnam's largest import market with an estimated turnover of 68.1 billion USD. In the past 8 months, the trade surplus with the United States is estimated at 53 billion USD, down 21% over the same period last year; the trade surplus with the EU is estimated at 19.6 billion USD, down 9.7%; the trade surplus with Japan is 1.5 billion USD (in the same period last year, the trade deficit was 146 million USD); the trade deficit with China is 32.3 billion USD, down 30.2%; the trade deficit with South Korea is 17.3 billion USD, down 34.5%; the trade deficit with ASEAN is 5.2 billion USD, down 38.4%.

With the above results, the trade balance of goods in August 2023 is estimated to have a trade surplus of 3.82 billion USD. In the first 8 months of 2023, the trade balance of goods is estimated to have a trade surplus of 20.19 billion USD (the same period last year had a trade surplus of 5.26 billion USD). Of which, the domestic economic sector had a trade deficit of 14.02 billion USD; the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) had a trade surplus of 34.21 billion USD.

In July 2023, which commodity groups achieved triple-digit export growth to the Indian market?

According to data from the Vietnam Trade Office in India, in July 2023, bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and India reached 1.26 billion USD, an increase of 6.06% compared to 1.18 billion USD in the same period in 2022.

Of which, the export value from Vietnam to India reached 766 million USD, up 22.8% compared to 624 million USD in the same period in 2022. Imports from India to Vietnam reached 490 million USD, down 12.5% ​​over the same period. The trade surplus in July 2023 was 275 million USD in favor of Vietnam.

Electronic products and components are the group of products that achieved triple-digit export growth to the Indian market. (Source: Industry and Trade Newspaper)

In July 2023, computers, electronic products and components were the commodity group with the highest export value at 199.2 million USD, up 152.7% over the same period in 2022, accounting for a large proportion of Vietnam's export value to India at 26%.

The second group is the group of phones of all kinds and components with a value of 115.5 million USD, up 3.2% and accounting for 15.1%. The third group is the group of other machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts with a value of 90.7 million USD, down 4.0% compared to the same period in 2022.

Some other commodity groups had impressive growth rates such as cashew nuts, which increased 34 times from 6,000 USD to 11.3 million USD; iron and steel of all kinds increased more than 10 times from 4.6 million USD to 52.6 million USD; wood and wood products increased nearly 4 times from 2.6 million USD to 13.3 million USD.

On the contrary, some product groups showed a significant decline, such as footwear of all kinds, down 63% from 28 million USD to 10.2 million USD; Textile fibers of all kinds, down 53% from 10.8 million USD to 5 million USD.

In the first 7 months of 2023, the bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and India reached 8.3 billion USD, down 7.7% compared to 8.98 billion USD in the same period last year. Of which, Vietnam's exports to India in the first 7 months of 2023 were 4.66 billion USD, down 1.1% compared to 4.72 billion USD last year. Imports from India to Vietnam reached 3.64 billion USD, down 14.9%. Trade surplus was 1.02 billion USD (up 130.6%).