An influx of Chilean cherries arriving by sea has plunged pressure on prices, but prices of airfreighted fruit from Australia and New Zealand hold up
Chilean cherry prices are under “significant downward pressure” in Vietnam due to “a massive volume” of seafreight arrivals, according to one leading importer.
“The market is flooded with Chilean cherries right now as there have been regular arrivals of both containers shipped from Chile, and containers trucked over the border from China,” said Biovegi import director, Lu Minh Quang.
While the influx has led to an overall “softening” of cherry prices, Lu said it has also created a two-tier market in Vietnam.
“Seafreighted Chilean cherries are driving mass-market penetration at lower price points. For the Australian and New Zealand cherries by air, prices are holding up. They’re not halving as some local media reports suggested,” he noted. “The volume available to export out of Australia and New Zealand is not large this season.”
Average wholesale prices of Chilean cherries at Thu Duc Agricultural Market in Ho Chi Minh City currently range from VND900,000 (US$34.50) per 5kg carton (1J) to VND1,250,000 (US$48) (4J), according to Lu. Prices are around VND150,000 (US$5.75) per carton lower than the same time in 2025, he noted.
Airfeighted New Zealand cherries (26mm+) are currently selling for VND2,050,000 (US$78.60) per 5kg carton, versus VND900,000 per carton for 1J/26mm fruit from Chile, he added. “Chilean cherry prices are only 44 per cent of the price of New Zealand cherries, so less than half.”
Lu is “cautiously optimistic” about the market performance of imported fruits leading up Tet (Lunar New Year). “We expect movement to really kick off in the first two weeks of February,” he said.
For an in-depth preview to Tet sales in Vietnam, read the Lunar New Year edition of Asiafruit Magazine. Subscribe here.
