Fresh Durian insights

In 2024, although Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports set new records, the fact that markets continuously issued warnings and increased inspections of imported goods shows that, in order to go the long way, production according to the right standards and quality is an inevitable requirement.

At present, customs in various places have stepped up durian inspection according to the new standards. Shanghai Port Sea Transport Port: Fresh durian needs to be inspected and cannot be conditionally picked up. The inspection time is undetermined. Air Transport Pudong Airport Customs: Both fresh and frozen durian need to be inspected, and it is expected to be completed in 7 working days. Guangzhou Port Nansha: 100% of fresh durian is checked at the port, and the inspection takes 7 working days. It cannot be picked up during this period. Beijing Port: 100% of fresh durian is checked at the port, and the inspection takes 14 working days. It cannot be picked up during this period. Guangxi Youyi Pingxiang Port: 100% of fresh and frozen durian is checked at the port, and the inspection takes 2-3 working days. It cannot be picked up during this period. Heavy metals and alkaline yellow are tested. Shenzhen Port: Fresh and frozen durian from Thailand/Vietnam/Malaysia Mandatory inspection, 4-7 working days for testing, no removal before the results. Durian pulp policy is unclear, and fresh durian may increase inspection. A test report that does not contain alkaline tender yellow must be provided before declaration. Kunming Customs: Added "alkaline tender yellow" test for Thai and Vietnamese durian, implemented on January 10, 2025, Hekou and Mengzi laboratories cannot do it, Kunming Center test. The detection rate is 100%, and the results will be available in about 7 days. No removal before the results are available. The Thai Ministry of Agriculture also issued an announcement to further strengthen the supervision of the use of hazardous substances. The announcement mentioned that from January 10, 2025, all Thai fresh durian exported to China is prohibited from using non-compliant chemical substances. Specifically including: 1. 1. Chemicals used in the production process must comply with the relevant Ministry of Health announcements or the provisions of the Toxic Substances Management Act; 2. If it is found that the fruit selection factory uses banned chemicals, its export qualification will be suspended and the registration certificate may be cancelled; 3. If there are any concerns, the inspector may request the inspection laboratory to analyze the relevant durian samples in order to decide whether to issue a plant health certificate. After the incident, a large Thai durian exporter said that due to the sudden implementation of the policy and the lack of clear details, exporters are worried that if they export in accordance with the regulations, they may be suspended from export during border inspections. Therefore, they announced a 5-day suspension of purchases (January 8 to 12), and many buyers also chose to stop purchasing and wait for clear policies from the Ministry of Agriculture and related departments, especially regarding Basic Yellow 2 residue standard. Currently, as the Chinese New Year is approaching (Lunar New Year on January 28), the price of durian remains high. AB grade durian is 230-240 baht per kilogram, and each export container is about 3 million baht. However, due to uncertainty, many merchants choose not to take risks for the time being. Currently, the durian production in the southern region is low, and it is expected that less than 10 containers can be exported per day. The durian production in the eastern region is large, especially Chumphon Province, which can produce about 500-600 containers of durian per day. However, the laboratory testing time is long. Usually, heavy metal cadmium testing takes 3 days, and the testing time for Basic Yellow 2 is still unclear. If the test takes 3 days, it may be necessary to stop purchasing for 4-5 days, and the excessively long testing cycle will affect the quality of the fruit, because the normal land transportation time usually takes 7 days. A durian buyer said that now is the best time to export durian, but due to

The Plant Protection Department received a warning for a shipment of fresh fruit (durian and jackfruit) exported from Vietnam that did not comply with plant quarantine and food safety requirements.