Increasing amounts of Vietnamese fruit are expected to land on the dining tables of Chinese consumers, with durian leading the way.
Since China approved the import of fresh Vietnamese durian in August 2022, the fruits have flowed into the Chinese market, and Hekou Port on the China-Vietnam border in Hekou County, southwest China's Yunnan Province has become a major distribution channel.
Official data show that in 2023, Vietnam exported more than 490,000 tons of durian to China, a staggering 1,100-percent increase from the previous year, valued at about 2.1 billion U.S. dollars.
The business continues to thrive. In the first half of this year, Vietnam's durian exports to China increased by 46 percent from the same period last year, reaching a value of more than 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.
Han Tao launched a fruit import business in Hekou County in 2018. Now he focuses on providing cold-chain transportation services to Chinese importers.
"Now we have about 50 containers in operation, and we plan to deploy a total of 300 containers. Currently the 50 containers are running at full capacity. None are idle," said Han.
The fruit trader also sees great potential in other agricultural products.
"Many businessmen have made an inspection tour in Vietnam, checking on fruits such as dragonfruits, rambutans, lychees and watermelons," said Han.
From January to July, Hekou Customs facilitated the release of over one million tons of imported goods, marking a year-on-year increase of about 52 percent.
To ensure the freshness of perishable goods like fruits, the customs authority has been actively enhancing clearance efficiency, going so far as to implement cutting-edge technologies.
"We've been trying to integrate new technologies with customs operations, using intelligent inspection equipment such as 5G-powered gadgets and AR glasses to assist enforcement in cargo label recognition, trademark identification, certificate verification, invasive species identification and other areas," said Hu Mei, an administrative enforcement officer of Hekou Customs.
More Vietnamese fruits to hit Chinese market
