Durian is a fruit tree with high economic value in both domestic consumption and export. In Long An, durian is concentrated in the Dong Thap Muoi region, with an area of about 780 hectares, an output of 2,830 tons/year. However, recently, the price of durian has dropped sharply, combined with climate change, saddening durian farmers.
Durian takes root in the alum soil
Mr. Trieu Van Nhin's durian garden (Tan Lap commune, Tan Thanh district) has about 50 trees that died due to off-season fruiting combined with prolonged drought and saline water
Tan Hiep commune is the locality with the largest durian growing area in Thanh Hoa district, Long An province with more than 100 hectares. Being an alum land, no one dared to think that durian trees could take root, grow well and bring high income to the people of Tan Hiep.
Mr. Ho Van Troi is one of the first farmers to bring durian trees to Tan Hiep land. He currently grows nearly 25 hectares, some of which have yielded fruit for 3 crops. After deducting expenses, he still has an average profit of nearly 1 billion VND/hectare. To achieve this profit, farmers must understand the techniques to cultivate effectively. Mr. Troi shared: “There are closed dikes around the durian garden. Tan Hiep is an area of acid sulfate soil, so when growing durian, farmers have to build high mounds. On average, from planting to harvesting the first crop, farmers invest 4-5 million VND/tree. Currently, the family's durian garden has been granted a growing area code. Thanks to that, in the harvest before the Lunar New Year of At Ty in 2025, traders bought Ri6 durian at 50,000 VND/kg, and Monthong durian at 100,000 VND/kg. The average profit is 1 billion VND/ha.”
Mr. Nguyen Van Duc, who is cultivating nearly 2 hectares of durian in Hamlet 4, Tan Hiep Commune, said: “At first, I was also worried because this is an alum land, rice cultivation is still difficult, with some crops failing, let alone fruit trees. But I worked hard to learn the techniques, gradually renovating and raising the land to high mounds. After 5 years, the durian garden began to produce fruit stably. In the last crop, I sold nearly 30 tons of Ri6 durian at 48,000-52,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, I still made a profit of more than 700 million VND/ha”.
From this effectiveness, many other local farmers have begun to learn and expand the durian growing area. However, according to the functional sector, developing durian in the Dong Thap Muoi region must be cautious, based on the planning of the growing area, water resources and the ability to link sustainable output.
Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Thanh Hoa district - Nguyen Kinh Kha informed: “Durian is a fruit with high economic value. Through actual surveys, in areas with favorable soil conditions, proactive irrigation water and people investing in the right techniques, the results are very clear, with profits from 700 million to more than 1 billion VND/ha/year after deducting costs. Compared to rice or other short-term crops, growing durian brings many times higher income. However, this type of tree requires strict techniques and high investment costs. The district's Department of Agriculture recommends that people should not develop massively but need to closely follow the planning, choose suitable varieties, register growing area codes and link sustainable output”.
Effective but unstable
Currently, durian prices have dropped sharply, farmers have very low profits
7 years ago, Mr. Tran Quoc Thinh (Tan Lap commune, Tan Thanh district) converted 5,000 m² of rice land to grow durian. After 4 years, the durian garden began to bear fruit but the yield was low, about 2.5 tons, the price that traders bought at the garden was 60,000 VND/kg. Seeing that the surrounding households were processing the fruit out of season to sell at a higher price, Mr. Thinh followed suit. Lacking experience, combined with drought and prolonged salinity, the trees were weakened, and the durian garden did not produce fruit.
According to experts, when durian trees are weakened, it is very difficult to recover and takes a lot of time. Therefore, despite processing the fruit in season, Mr. Thinh's durian garden still did not achieve the yield and quality of the fruit, so traders forced down the price. Mr. Thinh said: “Initially, traders deposited 40,000 VND/kg. On the harvest day, traders said the fruit quality was not up to standard and there was no growing area code, so they only bought it for 35,000 VND/kg. Seeing that durian trees would be weakened if the fruits were not cut at harvest time, I had to accept selling them off in the hope of getting back every penny. In fact, since I planted them, I have not yet recovered my capital and am still in debt.”
Also following the movement to deal with durians that bear fruit out of season, yet Mr. Trieu Van Nhin's durian garden (Tan Lap commune, Tan Thanh district) had about 30% of trees dead, the remaining ones were weakened and needed a long time to recover.
Mr. Nhin said: “My family has 180 durian trees that are 7 years old. Seeing that the durian trees are big and growing well, I decided to treat them off-season. However, last year, the drought lasted for a long time, the water was salty, leading to a lack of irrigation water, so 50 trees died, the investment cost was 5-6 million VND/tree. Due to insufficient water supply, the fruit fell, the last harvest only reached 2.5 tons, selling for 54,000 VND/kg, so my family suffered a loss”.
Normally, in May, the biggest fruit season of the year begins. However, this is also the time when China's fruit import market has many fluctuations in mechanisms, policies and competition. Recently, China has tightened the control process of durian imports.
Mr. Dang Van Tuan - representative of Hung Nguyen Agricultural Products Import-Export Company Limited (Chau Thanh district), shared: “Exporting durian to the Chinese market not only requires growing area codes, packaging facility codes, but also quality inspection of heavy metals such as cadmium and yellow O. In the case of a durian container truck that does not meet the standards and has to turn back, the business loses about 1 billion VND. Recently, some traders, chasing profits, have purchased durian that is not yet ripe enough, so they are forced to use yellow O to ripen the fruit. This has disrupted the durian industry, affecting other traders”.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, Long An has been granted 5 packing facility codes, 5 durian growing area codes and 7 growing area codes and is preparing documents and procedures to be recognized in the near future. However, currently, the management of growing area codes and packaging facility codes is not strict. Enterprises and farmers do not clearly understand the regulations on the use of growing area codes and packaging facility codes.
Ms. Do Thi Bay (Tan Lap commune, Tan Thanh district) said: “I am the first farmer to be granted a durian growing area code. However, because I did not fully understand, I signed a power of attorney for the enterprise to use the growing area code. After a while, my growing area code was revoked by China due to regulations. Without a growing area code, all durian acreage can only be sold domestically, so traders force down prices. This is a painful lesson that helps me realize the role of durian growing area codes for farmers.”
Farmers have not changed their awareness and production practices; traders are chasing profits; functional sectors lack inspection and supervision; etc. are the reasons why the durian industry is in trouble and unsustainable. So, what should the State, farmers and enterprises do to find a way to develop the durian industry sustainably?./.
Reported by Staffs
Translated by NT