SEVERAL Several hundred thousand tonnes of Vietnamese dragon fruit will soon be ripe for harvest but remains without buyers.
With its main Chinese market closed after its authorities imposed cross-border trade restrictions due to Covid-19, farmers in Vietnam are facing a dilemma on where to send their fruits to.
According to a Vn Express report, industry insiders said around 300,000 tonnes of dragon fruits are without buyers due to this situation.
Restricted customs clearance at the northern Vietnamese provinces of Quang Ninh and Lang Son border with China, has forced many Chinese buyers to stop purchasing Vietnamese dragon fruit, said Phan Van Tan, deputy director of Binh Thuan's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Dragon fruit prices have also dropped in the last few weeks as China tightened its Covid-19 measures that caused thousands of container trucks to get stuck at the border.
Some exporters said they have tried to transport goods via sea but this is not a sustainable solution as shipping fees have surged three times from before.
The Vietnamese industry has been hit hard by the Chinese restrictions as it has been the biggest buyer of Vietnamese agriculture produce and dragon fruit for years.
Its proximity to Vietnam also makes it a more accessible market compared to other destinations such as Europe, which could take up to 42 days for transportation.
Vietnam produces around 1.4 million tonnes of dragon fruit every year, with 80 per cent coming from the three provinces of Binh Thuan, Long An and Tien Giang.
To cope with the situation, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Thanh Nam suggested supermarkets nationwide buy the fruit to support farmers.
The ministry will also hold a forum with trade offices in Europe to diversify output, he added.
China last month imposed a four-week ban on dragon fruit imports through a northern Vietnamese border gate after detecting Covid-19 in some previous shipments.
The ban will last until Jan 26 on deliveries through the Huu Nghi border gate in Lang Son.
It applies to four varieties of dragon fruit shipped from the central province of Binh Thuan and the southern province of Long An.
This came after Chinese customs said it had detected the coronavirus in some consignments between November and December.
Huu Nghi is the second largest border gate for dragon fruits exports to China, accounting for five per cent of the total, said Vo Huy Hoang, chairman of the Binh Thuan Province Dragon Fruit Association.
Thousands of trucks carrying various other agriculture produce also remain stuck at the border as only a limited number of trucks are allowed in daily.
Many trucks carrying dragon fruits have turned around and are being sold cheaply in country.
The fruit sells in Hanoi for VND2,500 (US$0.11) per kg, or just 10 per cent of the export price.
China imported US$8.4 billion worth of Vietnamese agriculture produce in the first 11 months of 2021, down 17 per cent year-on-year.