Exports to South Korea fell by 5% to $101 million and to Thailand by 3% to $57 million, according to Vietnam Customs.
China has intensified inspections of durians coming from Vietnam, screening them for residues of cadmium and auramine O, the latter a carcinogenic substance, leading to long queues at customs, spoilage and rejections.
Exporters say clearance takes up to a week for compared to three days at most in the past.
Major exporter Vina T&T has only been able to ship one or two containers a week due to limited supply of clean produce.
Its CEO, Nguyen Dinh Tung, has urged the government to tighten regulations on fertilizers and pesticides to safeguard export quality.
Vietnam’s exports of mango, banana, jackfruit, dragon fruit, and passion fruit have also seen sharp declines.
In the first five months Vietnam’s overall fruit and vegetable exports plummeted by 17.8% to $2.2 billion.
Apart from durian, there were also declines in shipment of mango, banana, jackfruit, dragon fruit, and passion fruit.
In an effort to reverse this, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy has directed agencies to collaborate closely with Chinese customs to address exports technical barriers and increase the number of China-approved packaging and testing facilities.
The ministry is also finalizing a quality testing scheme specifically meant for durian.
In the long run it plans to strengthen the legal framework for agricultural exports, clarifying regulations on farming, packaging, testing, and inspection.
The durian industry will shift toward sustainability, prioritizing deep processing, such as production of frozen durian, to boost value and reduce dependence on fresh produce.
