In July, Vietnam’s durian will enter peak harvest season. With nearly 1,000 new codes recently granted by Chinese Customs, the door to this lucrative market is opening wider than ever for Vietnamese durian.
Good News for Vietnamese Durian
According to the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, on May 21, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) officially updated its list to include 829 new plantation area codes and 131 new packaging facility codes for Vietnamese durians.
On May 21, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) officially updated 829 plantation area codes and 131 packaging facility codes for Vietnamese durian. Photo: Lan Anh
As of May 21, Vietnam has a total of 1,396 approved plantation area codes and 188 packaging facility codes (after deducting revoked ones) eligible for official export to China.
This expansion presents a favorable opportunity for boosting durian exports to China. Local authorities and businesses are encouraged to take full advantage while strictly adhering to phytosanitary and food safety regulations to ensure sustainable export.
However, violations persist. Some localities have been caught using borrowed codes, failing to update production logs, or misreporting output—leading to shipments being rejected. Several plantation areas have had their codes revoked for not following technical protocols or failing to update necessary data.
The Plant Protection Department noted that a Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for fresh Vietnamese durian exports to China was signed on July 11, 2022. Article 2 of the Protocol clearly states that all plantation areas and packaging facilities must be registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) and approved by both Vietnam’s Ministry and China’s GACC.
As of May 21, the Ministry had submitted files for 1,604 plantation areas and 314 packaging facilities to GACC. Of these, 708 plantations and 168 facilities were approved. However, due to export violations, 141 plantations and 111 facilities were suspended. Thus, only 567 plantations and 57 packaging facilities remain active and eligible for export to China.
For the suspended codes, the Department is investigating the violations, clarifying responsibilities, and proposing specific corrective measures. Based on these, the authorities will engage with Chinese counterparts to resolve issues and gradually reinstate the suspended codes.
Speaking to Công Thương newspaper, Mr. Huỳnh Tấn Đạt—Director of the Plant Protection Department—warned that the market is becoming increasingly stringent. Even minor deviations in chemical residue levels or traceability can lead to suspension of plantation codes and loss of export rights. Maintaining valid plantation codes is no longer optional—it’s a matter of survival.
Code Holders Must Take Responsibility
By the end of 2024, Vietnam’s durian cultivation area had rapidly expanded to nearly 180,000 hectares, yielding around 1.5 million tons. In addition to China, fresh Vietnamese durian is exported to over 20 markets such as Hong Kong (China), Taiwan (China), Switzerland, the EU, and Japan. Frozen durian is present in more than 20 countries, including Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong (China), and Kazakhstan.
Mr. Huỳnh Tấn Đạt emphasized that from now until 2030, the sector’s primary goal is not expanding cultivation but building trust and reliability.
Furthermore, not only China but most agricultural import markets worldwide are tightening technical standards to ensure food safety and consumer protection. For fresh fruits in particular, importing countries impose high standards on quality, production procedures, phytosanitary compliance, and traceability.
Thus, Mr. Đạt urged all code holders to take full responsibility for the codes they have registered. These codes are not just administrative tools but represent their brand, assets, and product reputation.
He added: “Strict code management is essential. We’ve built a national export database where each plantation code must declare full details such as code number, output, acreage, crop season, and links in the production–packaging–export chain. This ensures transparent management across the supply chain.”
When a shipment is submitted, customs and phytosanitary authorities at the border will rely on this database to verify and inspect. Only shipments that match the declared information in the national system will be cleared for export.
According to Chinese regulations, only durians from GACC-approved plantations are eligible for export to China. Thus, this new batch of approvals opens further opportunities for Vietnam to increase its durian export volume to this key market.
Source: Công Thương