The durian express: How Southeast Asia flooded China’s market

(Edited and refined by Grace Chong, with the assistance of AI translation.)

Mdm Li was browsing Thai Monthong durians at an upmarket supermarket chain in Chongqing when she noticed just how much prices had fallen.

“Durian is definitely cheaper this year. Last year, this would have cost at least 300 RMB (about US$44). This year, it’s just over 100 RMB.”

Everyone in her family of three loves durian, she told Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB). With prices so much lower, they now buy one almost every week.

At another supermarket, at least ten shoppers crowded around the durian stall. As a vendor deftly split open the fruit and packed it for customers, he sighed, “I haven’t had a break all morning. I can barely keep up.”

Across China, retail prices for mainstream durian varieties, including Thai and Vietnamese Monthong, have generally fallen from 35-45 RMB per 500 grams last year to 20-30 RMB this year, according to estimates. Some supermarkets have even offered promotional prices as low as 13.80 RMB per 500 grams.

On livestreaming e-commerce platforms, consumers can now buy a whole durian weighing more than 2 kilograms, with six well-filled chambers, and free delivery, for 168 RMB.

The lower prices have fuelled a surge in sales. According to the 2026 Douyin E-commerce Durian Consumption Trends Report, released on 22 May, fresh durian sales on the platform increased more than tenfold between 15 and 20 May compared with the preceding period.

Chinese social media has been filled with photos of freshly purchased durians, accompanied by comments such as “This is finally the year of durian freedom,” and “I finally dare to buy a whole durian.” Once again, “durian freedom” has become a trending topic.

A flood of durians from Thailand and Vietnam

Industry players point to three main reasons for this year’s sharp decline in durian prices: higher supply, more efficient logistics and lower tariffs. Of these, the increase in supply is widely seen as the biggest factor.

Joyce Lee, executive chairman of the Singapore South China Business Association, who is familiar with the imported durian market, told LHZB that Thailand has produced a larger harvest this year, while durian trees planted during Vietnam’s recent expansion have reached their peak fruit-bearing period, significantly boosting overall supply.

Liu Wenzheng, founder of Zhengge Selection (Jiaxing) Supply Chain Ltd., which trades Southeast Asian durians, summed it up simply: “Supply has outpaced demand.”

Almost all durians sold in China are imported from Southeast Asia. Data from China’s General Administration of Customs show that China imported 156,000 tonnes of fresh durians in the first quarter of this year, up 294% year on year, with Vietnam and Thailand accounting for the vast majority.

Liu said producers across Southeast Asia — including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Laos — have spent the past few years rapidly expanding plantations and export capacity to meet booming Chinese demand.

Vietnam News Agency reported in January that the country’s durian cultivation area has expanded almost sixfold over the past decade to 180,000 hectares.

VietnamNet, citing data from the Import-Export Department under Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, reported that the country’s exports of fresh and frozen durians rose 59.7% year on year in the first four months of this year.

The surge in supply has driven wholesale prices sharply lower. Data from Beijing’s Xinfadi wholesale market show that the average wholesale price of Grade A Vietnamese Monthong durians fell from 36.5 RMB per 500 grams in April to 13 RMB per 500 grams in June — a cumulative decline of about 64% in just two months.

Grade A Thai Monthong durians, which entered the market in large volumes from May, also saw their average wholesale price fall from 26.5 RMB to 18 RMB per 500 grams by June.

Faster logistics get durians to market quicker

Higher production is only part of the story.

Liu said improvements in China’s import channels and logistics network have enabled durians to reach consumers much faster, outpacing the growth in consumer demand.

Two developments have been especially important. Shipping capacity has expanded, with major shipping lines deploying more vessels than in previous years. Rail freight capacity has also increased significantly. During the peak season, the China-Laos Railway’s Lancang-Mekong Express durian service has expanded from two or three trains a day to five or six, allowing shipments to arrive in concentrated volumes and be distributed more quickly.

The China-Laos Railway, a key part of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, is also an important logistics link between Chongqing and ASEAN.

According to China News Service, Thai durians transported via the Lancang-Mekong Express international cold chain service can reach Kunming in as little as 26 hours during the peak season, and be distributed to more than 30 Chinese cities within 48 hours.

Is ‘durian freedom’ here to stay?

Feng Xuejie, director of the tropical fruit tree research institute of the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, cautioned that while “durian freedom” is an appealing prospect, it has its limits. The future price trajectory will depend on the variety.

Thai and Vietnamese Monthong and Kan Yao are high-yielding, relatively easy-to-grow varieties with stable production, he said.

“If ‘durian freedom’ means Vietnamese Kan Yao, then yes, it’s achievable. But premium varieties like Malaysia’s Musang King and Black Thorn are much harder to cultivate and produce lower yields. Their prices are unlikely to fall to 20 or 30 RMB.”

Zhang Miao, a professor at Xiamen University’s Research School for Southeast Asian Studies, believes durians could gradually shift from being a luxury item to an everyday fruit, unlocking demand in sinking markets.

Yet, demand for premium varieties is unlikely to weaken. Instead, she expects the market to become increasingly refined and tiered.

As Hainan expands domestic durian cultivation and locally grown fruit enters the premium market, Southeast Asian exporters will face competition not only from one another but also from China’s growing domestic industry.

Even so, Feng noted that China’s domestic production remains very limited and is still far from fundamentally changing the country’s heavy reliance on imports from Southeast Asia.

Will durians end up in a price war?

Could today’s falling prices eventually trigger a wave of “price involution”?

Singapore South China Business Association’s Lee believes premium durians will continue to command high prices, while lower-grade fruit could become trapped in fierce price wars.

“Competition at the lower end of the market will be extremely intense,” she said.

Zhang is more optimistic. She argues that durians naturally lend themselves to tiered pricing because of their wide range of varieties. That segmentation should help preserve reasonable profit margins, making a spiral into “vicious involution” less likely.

Zhengge Selection (Jiaxing) Supply Chain’s Liu shares that view. He expects China’s durian market to eventually resemble those for cherries, grapes and even red wine, with distinct quality tiers, brands and price points.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “东南亚产量激增 中国“榴梿自由”分化”.

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