Chinese Chocolate Persimmon Prices Drop 70% in Vietnam

Chinese chocolate persimmons dropped to VND30,000 ($1.15) per kilogram in Vietnam, falling 70 percent year-on-year to reach their lowest level since entering the market in 2023.

The price collapse puts the imported fruit roughly 10 percent below domestic persimmons from Da Lat and at one-third the price of Central Highlands Fuji varieties.

Supply Surge Across Traditional Stalls

Street stalls and wet-market vendors across Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City sell the fruit between VND30,000 and VND60,000 per kilogram depending on grading. The Shanxi specialty, known for its brown-speckled seedless flesh, crisp texture, and lack of astringency, has shifted from a niche novelty into a volume product across urban centres.

Importers route the fruit directly to neighbourhood shops and wet-market stalls rather than channeling volume through wholesale central markets. This direct delivery model cuts handling layers and accelerates stock turnover on retail floors.

Upstream Pricing in Shanxi

Farmgate economics in China explain the steep retail drops across Vietnamese cities. In Shanxi province, bulk wholesale orders trade at CNY0.8 to CNY1.2 per jin, or half a kilogram, translating to VND6,000 to VND9,300 per kilogram before transport.

Chinese e-commerce platforms show similar pricing pressure. JD.com lists 1.5-kilogram boxes of crisp Shanxi chocolate persimmons at promotional prices of CNY14.9, equal to about VND38,500 per kilogram for domestic consumers.

Squeezing Domestic Growers

Direct supply lines from northern China challenge domestic fruit producers in Lam Dong and the wider Central Highlands. Local growers face higher harvest and transit costs, leaving domestic varieties unable to match the volume pricing of northern imports during peak harvest windows.

Specialty fruit shops that previously commanded premium margins on Japanese-origin varieties now face price erosion. When standard street vendors sell comparable seedless stock at VND30,000 per kilogram, premium fruit boutiques lose their pricing use.

Cross-Border Produce Inflow

The persimmon surplus forms part of a wider trade shift between the two countries. Vietnam imported nearly $900 million worth of fruits and vegetables from China during the first eight months of the year, an increase of 51 percent over the same period last year.

Persimmons arrived alongside rising shipments of Chinese grapes, apples, and pears across land border crossings. Customs clearance volumes through northern border gates over the final quarter will determine whether retail persimmon prices stabilise or face further downward pressure before the seasonal harvest concludes.