06/06/2026

Vietnamese Durian: Using China as a Springboard in the Era of Rising Power

Vietnam is closing the gap with Thailand in the Chinese durian market, thanks to recent trade policies and infrastructure investments along the Lạng Sơn border.

Bởi AnTamForward

Thailand has long been the world's largest exporter of durian (Sầu riêng, often called the "King of Fruits" in Southeast Asia). However, thanks to recent trade policies and infrastructure investments, Vietnam is closing the gap with Thailand in the Chinese market. In November 2025, China imported 903,000 tons of Thai durian (USD 3.9 billion) and 885,000 tons from Vietnam (USD 3.2 billion).

Experts forecast that in 2026, Vietnamese durian will overtake Thailand in the Chinese market in both volume and quality.

These figures are no coincidence. Two international protocols signed with China in 2022 and 2024 opened the door for fresh and frozen durian alike. Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has cooperated with Chinese Customs to approve 1,396 coded growing zones and 188 packaging facilities - significantly boosting the credibility of Vietnamese durian in the eyes of consumers.

In parallel, key infrastructure projects in Lạng Sơn (a northern border province) have substantially lowered transport costs. Two expressways - Đồng Đăng–Trà Lĩnh and Hữu Nghị–Chi Lăng - were completed in 2025, providing direct connectivity to the Hữu Nghị border gate, the busiest crossing on the Vietnam–China frontier. Travel time from the capital Hanoi to Cao Bằng province has been cut from 5–6 hours down to just 2–2.5 hours.

Vietnamese durian stands as a textbook example of the "sweet fruits" (trái ngọt - a Vietnamese idiom for the rewards of hard work) that recent infrastructure projects are beginning to deliver.

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