China “opens the door”, dragon fruit prices tripled

The reopening of China has helped dragon fruit exports to this market more favorable than before.

The price of Tien Giang dragon fruit is now being bought by traders at a price 3 times higher than it was a month ago, helping growers to be excited because of high profits.

It is known that dragon fruit granaries in Cho Gao district, Tien Giang province, are purchasing red flesh dragon fruit grade 1 for over 34,000 VND/kg, type 2 for 28,000 – 30,000 VND/kg and type 3 from 23,000 – 25,000 VND.

With the above purchase price, dragon fruit growers are excited and assured to invest in dragon fruit trees after a period of strong price reduction.

In the dragon fruit capital of Binh Thuan, the price of dragon fruit also increased sharply. Specifically, type 1 white flesh dragon fruit costs 13,000-15,000 VND/kg, red flesh dragon fruit costs 35,000-37,000 VND/kg.

Compared to the end of 2021, the price of white flesh dragon fruit has increased sharply but has not been able to recover to the price of 2019 – the time before the COVID-19 epidemic. However, dragon fruit growers started to make a profit.

According to the Chairman of the Dragon Fruit Association of Long An province, the price of dragon fruit is currently at a high level thanks to the attractive Chinese market. Type 1 white flesh dragon fruit costs 20,000 VND/kg, grade 1 red flesh dragon fruit costs 40,000 VND/kg, which is the level that farmers are making a profit. Farmers are stepping up to grow dragon fruit in the off-season. As long as dragon fruit is priced, farmers will increase production again.

Exporters said that the Chinese market is accounting for about 60-70% of the company’s total export turnover. In addition, goods exported to other markets such as the US, Australia, EU… are also better because the freight rates have cooled down. Therefore, the price of dragon fruit is gradually recovering.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, Chairman of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, said that not only dragon fruit when the customs clearance situation at border gates is smooth, this year, Vietnam has more billion-dollar fruit, durian, so the value Tet exports will be very high.

In addition, the favorable approval for the Chinese market, the prices of other fruit products are also forecasted to increase, and increase sharply with traditional export items.

With the above factors, Mr. Nguyen forecasts that in 2023, Vietnam’s export turnover will increase by 20-30%, reaching about 4 billion USD. In which durian, dragon fruit have the highest turnover. It is expected that in 2023, these two items will be in the group of billions of USD, so that the import and export turnover of vegetables and fruits will increase sharply.

However, Mr. Nguyen also recommended that China is now a fastidious market with strict standards, so farmers and businesses need to comply with market regulations to export smoothly and avoid violations.

Currently, Vietnam has 5 products of plant origin exported to China in the form of signing the protocol, including: mangosteen, black jelly, durian, banana and sweet potato. At the same time, there are 7 allowed traditional export fruit products: mango, dragon fruit, longan, lychee, watermelon, rambutan and jackfruit.

Vietnam is also temporarily exporting passion fruit and fresh chili peppers to the Chinese market. Besides, a number of products are continuing to negotiate to open the market such as grapefruit, custard apple, coconut, plum, lemon…

Source: https://cafef.vn/trung-quoc-mo-cua-gia-thanh-long-tang-gap-3-lan-20230105160741096.chn