Young durian fruit in the farm of Loc Khanh cooperative, Loc Ninh district, Binh Phuoc province. (Photo: VNA)
Binh Phuoc, (VNA) – The southeastern province of Binh Phuoc is looking for solution to develop durian cultivation in a sustainable manner in the context of good prospects for durian export through official channels.
The province currently has 5,300 ha under durian, with 2,434 ha of trees harvestable. In the 2023 crop, local farmers have so far harvested 14,850 tonnes of durian, with a productivity of over 9.6 tonnes per ha. As a result, total production of this year’s crop is estimated at 23,575 tonnes, up 108.4% from last year.
Of the durian area, about 1,015 ha have been granted planting area codes (PAC), while foreign importers have conducted online checks of 25 durian farms with a total area of 645.9 ha.
Main durian growing areas in Binh Phuoc are in the districts of Bu Dang, Phu Rieng, Bu Gia Map and Loc Ninh, and Phuoc Long township.
Pham Thuy Luan, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the high durian prices in recent crops has prompted farmers to adopt advanced farming techniques such as solar-powered irrigation systems and drones in caring for their trees.
According to Luan, durian cultivation in the province is facing problems such as scattered and small scale farms. The area with PAC or meeting VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards accounts for just a small part of the total acreage under durian.
Therefore, Binh Phuoc has included measures to promote sustainable development of durian cultivation in the province’s project on restructuring agriculture in the 2021-25 period with orientations to 2030, focusing on zoning durian growing areas, accelerating the acquisition and management of PAC, and intensifying supervision of food safety.
Local farmers are encouraged to apply IT technology in production to ensure information transparency from farms to packaging facilities and exporters, and strive to meet at least VietGAP standards.
The province will develop durian production chains to keep prices stable, and seek more export markets to avoid dependence on any single one.
Vietnam earned about 850 million USD from durian exports in the first half of 2023, double the figure of the entire 2022. The fruit is expected to bring home 1.2-1.5 billion USD in 2023.
Currently, Vietnamese durian has many competitive advantages compared to Thai and Philippine durian. Vietnam's durian output is now increasing to around 1 million tonnes, and harvesting time is almost year-round while Thailand and the Philippines only harvest seasonally. In addition, the shorter shipping distance from Vietnam to China is also an advantage to help Vietnamese durian stay fresh, and the shipping costs included in the price will be cheaper than those of the competitors./.
