While piling up dragon fruit on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street (Binh Thanh District), Ms. Lan Anh said she had bought about a ton of the export-standard variety to gradually sell. “This year’s variety is very sweet, not as sour as before,” she said.
Mr. Thanh, a dragon fruit seller on Pham Ngu Lao Street (Go Vap), said white-fleshed dragon fruit is currently priced at 10,000 VND per kilogram, and red-fleshed dragon fruit is 15,000 VND. This price has decreased by half compared to 3 months ago.
Note of VnExpress At gardens in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang, dragon fruit prices are also falling sharply. The white-fleshed variety is currently sold for 7,000-12,000 VND per kg, while the red-fleshed variety ranges from 8,000-15,000 VND per kg (depending on the variety).
Ba, the owner of a dragon fruit garden in Binh Thuan, said she had just sold her entire garden (about 5 tons) for 8,500 VND per kilogram, earning nearly 40 million VND. “This price has decreased by 36% compared to last season,” she said.
Reasons for sharp drop in dragon fruit pricesAccording to Ms. Yen, a dragon fruit trader in Binh Thuan, China has reduced its purchases, while the harvest season is bumper. In the domestic market, consumers are also not very interested in dragon fruit because there are many other more attractive fruits such as durian, avocado, jackfruit… in season.
She said that export businesses have reduced their purchases by up to 30% during this season. “Some days, I cut a few tons, but sometimes I don’t buy for 2-3 days because the number of export orders has decreased,” she said, adding that for domestic goods, she only collects according to customer demand.
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said that the dragon fruit output in China is higher than that in Vietnam. Especially from June to November, domestic products are abundant, so they reduce imports of dragon fruit from Vietnam, causing prices to plummet.
A representative of Cho Gao Dragon Fruit Cooperative (Tien Giang) acknowledged that China is still a large market, so when they reduce their purchases, it will immediately affect prices. Many households are gradually switching to growing dragon fruit that meets Global GAP standards to be able to export to other markets such as Japan, the US, and South Korea.
According to customs data, in the first 6 months of the year, Vietnam’s dragon fruit exports reached nearly 300 million USD, down 13.5% compared to the same period last year. Of which, exports to China alone reached 203 million USD (accounting for 68% of total turnover), down 26.3%. It is forecasted that in the last 6 months of the year, dragon fruit exports may continue to decrease sharply when Chinese goods enter the season.
However, Mr. Nguyen is also optimistic that some other countries are increasing their purchases of Vietnamese dragon fruit. India spent 21 million USD, up 35%; the US 18 million USD, up 90%; South Korea 10 million USD, up 36%; UAE 7.8 million USD, up 60%… “These positive signals can help dragon fruit prices increase again in the last months of the year,” he predicted.
