On The Radar: The 'king of fruit' taking over Vietnam's coffee plots
27 May 2024
Durian: a food that can divide a room as fast as coriander or Marmite.
The fruit – renowned for its pungent odour - grows particularly well in Southeast Asia and is known as the ‘fruit of gold’, particularly in parts of Vietnam.
That title comes as no surprise, according to reporting from Channel News Asia, one hectare of fruit trees can generate an estimated US$70,000 (NZD$115,000) in profits in a good year. In contrast, a hectare of rice or coffee only gets you about US$6000 (NZD$9800).
However, as larger numbers of farmers switch to growing durian, be warned: this could have a flow-on effect to your cup of morning coffee.
Vietnam is the second-largest exporter globally of coffee beans and the largest exporter of Robusta, a particular type of bean. Robusta coffee beans are a cheaper alternative to Arabica beans and often seen as ‘inferior’ in terms of quality – but Arabica beans, largely grown around equatorial America and America, are facing increasing danger from climate change.
Robusta coffee beans – while still facing some of the same climate issues - are natural beans to fill in the gaps from Arabica, as they can grow in hardier conditions.
While this may see growing demand in the future for Robusta beans, it seems the lure of durian is too high for now.
In the last five years, the durian growing area (currently around 110,000 ha) increased by nearly 25 percent yearly. Much of what is produced goes to China.
According to the South China Morning Post, Vietnam shipped US$2.1 billion (NZD$3.5 billion) worth of durian to China in 2023. In 2022, that figure was only $US 188 million (NZD$308 million).
A current “craze” for durian in China is pumping up demand for the fruit. Data released in 2023 by HBSC showed that between 2021 and 2023, China accounted for 91 percent of global demand for the pungent fruit.
The window of opportunity is there for Vietnamese farmers - time will tell if we'll see a difference in coffee prices.
- Asia Media Centre
