Among destinations for Vietnamese durian, shipments to South Korea rose 188% year on year in January-July 2026, reaching US$2.4 million (2,4 triệu USD). The figure was reported by Dan tri on September 8, citing a tally from fruit-and-vegetable association sources. The amount itself is small. Even so, for growing areas and exporters whose top priority is how to break their dependence on China, South Korea became a test market that showed in practice that durian can sell outside China too. For Japanese food buyers and trading houses, it is also a gauge of whether their own country could become the next outlet.
Up 188% to South Korea, yet the amount is about one-690th of China's
In the same tally, Vietnam's share of South Korea's fruit imports rose from 3.59% in 2025 to 4.2% in January-July 2026, placing South Korea eighth among markets with high growth rates for Vietnamese fruit. South Korea has its own reasons to buy. Domestic orchards shrank on poor weather, and the Korean government eased import quotas on tropical fruit and placed temporary preferential tariffs on some items to rein in consumer prices; Vietnamese fruit moved into this demand gap, local newspapers report. But US$2.4 million is only a tiny fraction of the US$1.8 billion (1,8 tỷ USD, up 47% year on year) recorded by durian exports as a whole over the same seven months, of which shipments to China account for US$1.65 billion (1,65 tỷ USD, up 57%). Set side by side, South Korea comes to only about one-690th of China.
So reading this 188% as South Korea has become a main market misses the point. What to read is the movement behind the growth rate. Against an export structure that has entrusted more than 90% to the single market of China, growing areas and exporters have begun opening several outlets at once, however small; it is fair to take South Korea as the first place where actual figures for that appeared.
| Item | Figures (with original notation shown alongside) | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Durian exports to South Korea | +188% / US$2.4 million (2,4 triệu USD) | January-July; Dan tri |
| Vietnam's share of South Korea's fruit imports | 3.59%→4.2% | 2025 to January-July 2026 |
| Total durian exports | US$1.8 billion (1,8 tỷ USD, +47%) | January-July |
| Of which, to China | US$1.65 billion (1,65 tỷ USD, +57%) | January-July |
| Domestic price, Ri6 Grade 1 | 55,000〜60,000 VND/kg | September 8 |
| Domestic price, Thai-variety Grade A | 85,000〜90,000 VND/kg | September 8 |
From volume to quality: trade-press headlines have begun to change
In the week these Korean figures came out, headlines in Vietnam's trade media shifted uniformly. In early September, alongside aggregate-amount coverage like nearing US$2 billion in eight months, a caveat to the effect of growth that comes with quality pressure began to be attached. The focus is moving from articles celebrating the growth to articles asking how to protect it.
This shift is convenient information for the Japanese side. The reason is simple: everyone sees the same flash reports on price and volume, but the moment the supply side itself begins to say out loud where it will get stuck next is precisely the entry point for procurement negotiations. The more clearance at the Chinese border tightens and the more lots are rejected over residue standards or traceability, the more growing areas hold stock that meets the standards but has few places to go. The 188% to South Korea is also a trace of that stock flowing out through a different window.
Can Japan become the next outlet after South Korea?
If targeting Japan, go for frozen and processed ingredients, not fresh fruit
Moving large volumes of fresh durian in the Japanese market is not realistic. Shelf life, smell, and unit price are the three reasons it struggles to reach Japanese retail shelves. What to target is frozen flesh and processed ingredients. Puree, paste, and frozen pulp can move year-round as OEM ingredients for confectionery, ice cream, and drinks. Not being directly exposed to fresh-fruit price swings, and being able to fix specifications and commit to annual contracts, lowers the buyer's management costs. It is natural to see much of the real demand that grew in South Korea as leaning toward processing and food service rather than fresh fruit.
There is no need to think in terms of durian alone, either. The Vietnamese side is pushing several items at once in the same move-away-from-China context. the shift in which cashews, up 111%, drew level with dragon fruit as the lineup of Vietnam's fruit exports changes Viewed alongside this, durian's 188% to South Korea is not a one-off curiosity but a cross-section of the same current of export-destination diversification. Japanese buyers can take an approach of using durian processing as the entry point while pulling several items together through the same growing area and the same supply channel.
Don't miss the September-December procurement window
The main supplier of durian changes with the season. From early autumn, as Thai fruit enters its off-season, Vietnamese fruit takes center stage in world supply. the picture in which Vietnamese fruit takes the lead from September to December and Thailand's off-season opens a procurement window Given this, the present moment, now that South Korea's results are in, overlaps with a good opportunity for the Japanese side to begin sampling and aligning specifications. Rather than the peak Chinese demand season when prices tighten, conditions pass more easily if talks are settled during the off-season, when growing areas are turning their attention to other markets.
Country, companies, and growing areas are each expanding export destinations separately
Behind the figures, growing areas, companies, and government are each making their own moves. This is not abstract diversification but action with real names and real numbers.
- At the national level, institutional action to increase the export destinations themselves is advancing. the case in which India opened its market to Vietnamese durian, punching a hole in the 95% dependence on China is a product of the same add-more-windows policy as the 188% to South Korea, and South Korea's actual figures can be positioned as the first example where that effect could be confirmed in monetary terms.
- At the company level, Vietnamese exporters are themselves going to venues where they meet buyers outside China face to face. The move in which 22 Vietnamese companies lined up at an Asian fruit trade fair in Hong Kong, with the names of trading partners moving beyond China coming up concretely, is the very substance of the supply flow that produced the Korean figures.
- At the growing-area level, there are also cases of producers themselves building sales channels without waiting for government openings or trade talks. Villages are emerging that sell out at the field or through live-stream sales, moving their entire crop without going through middlemen.
The implication for Japanese buyers is clear. The 188% to South Korea is evidence that Vietnam wants to sell, and that intent is moving simultaneously across three layers: country, companies, and growing areas. It means this is a phase in which you can choose whom to negotiate with.
If Japanese buyers act this week
Just watching flash-report prices gets nothing started. If you advance just one concrete move on the basis of this article's figures, it is requesting samples of frozen flesh or processed ingredients and confirming the specifications that can be supplied (variety, grade, residue standards, traceability documents). Keep the levels below as a rough guide, while bearing in mind that the fresh-fruit price itself does not directly translate into a quote for processed ingredients.
| Item to confirm | Rough guide and original notation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic fresh-fruit price, Ri6 Grade 1 | 55,000〜60,000 VND/kg | Not a direct indicator of processed-ingredient prices |
| Thai variety, Grade A | 85,000〜90,000 VND/kg | Range varies by variety and growing area |
| Robusta international benchmark | London September contract, US$3,400/t | A background figure for gauging the same region's supply flow |
| Period when supply thickens | September-December | Thai off-season; Vietnam in the lead |
| Priority documents to confirm | Residue standards and growing-area code | Screening advances as China tightens requirements |
Without being misled by the order of magnitude of the amount, now, when you hold both the intent shown by the 188% growth rate and the September-to-December time window at once, is the cheapest phase in which to settle conditions with the Vietnamese side. If you start by getting a quote for processed ingredients from just one company, you can secure your own allocation before prices tighten in next season's peak Chinese demand.
Source: Dan tri, Giá nông sản hôm nay 8/9 (September 8, 2026)https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/gia-nong-san-hom-nay-89-ca-phe-dien-bien-trai-chieu-sau-rieng-giam-nhe-20260908065434604.htm The figures of 188% to South Korea and US$1.8 billion over seven months were confirmed as consistent in contemporaneous reporting by Thanh Nien, Doanh nghiệp và Tiếp thị, and others.
