Harvesting durian in Dong Nai province. In the first eight months of 2023, the durian export value reached nearly 1.2 billion USD. (Photo: VNA) If the durian industry, as well as other commodities, wants todevelop sustainably, they must reorganise the structure from the productionstage to consumption, Hoan said.
This means fostering cooperation between enterprises and farmersfrom the selection of durian varieties for production, rather than justengaging in purchasing activities. They need to transition from a businessrelationship to a cooperative one.
The minister also suggested that growing areas must register acode to plant durian according to standards. Moreover, it is essential tofoster a close connection among businesses, cooperatives, and farmers.
They must understand that sustainable development is not only fordurian trees but also for businesses and farmers, as they will participate inthe sustainable durian supply chain.
Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of MARD’s Centre for DigitalTransformation and Agricultural Statistics, acknowledged that the durianindustry has expanded rapidly in recent years. Therefore, it's crucial toestablish a policy framework and appropriate standards for sustainabledevelopment.
In addition to fresh durian products, the industry needs todevelop processed products and also come up with specific plans for thedevelopment of durian growing areas nationwide, Toan said.
To achieve sustainable development of the durian industry, severalkey bottlenecks must be addressed, including rapid growth, unfair competitionin purchasing durians, processing infrastructure, quality management, andestablishing connections among farmers, traders, and exporters; and thecreation of standard processes, according to Toan.
Furthermore, Toan urged localities and enterprises to focus onfrozen durian products for export thanks to the potential of these products.
He also recommended expanding business to other markets throughnew-generation free trade agreements (FTAs). At present, Vietnam is involved innumerous FTAs such as CPTPP, EVFTA, RCEP, as well as significant communitieslike ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Union. This provides opportunities for thedurian industry to boost exports.
According to Nguyen Thi Thai Thanh, chairwoman of Ban Me GreenFarm Joint Stock Company, a major challenge in the durian industry is the lackof consistency in the linkage between production and consumption.
The durian industry lacks a tight bond between cooperatives,farmers, and businesses. Thus, if durian prices soar, farmers might refrainfrom selling durians to businesses offering lower prices than previously agreedupon. This leads to instability in the industry’s operations. At the same time,cooperatives have not truly maximised their role in the linkage chain, Thanhnoted.
Nguyen Hoai Duong, Director of Dak Lak province's Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said that in the past two years, durianprices have risen following the signing of the protocol on plant quarantinerequirements for official durian exports to China between Vietnam and China.This has greatly motivated the growth of the durian industry, substantiallyraising the income of farmers and the profits of businesses within the duriansupply chain.
If the Vietnamese durian industry wants to achieve sustainableproduction and business, all stakeholders in the value chain must collaborateclosely, Duong said. This means that farmers, businesses, localities withgrowing areas, State management agencies, and scientists should unite indeveloping the industry.
Nong Ngoc Trung, Chairman of Golden Field Company in Lang Sonprovince which specialises in processing agricultural products for export toChina, said that to export Vietnamese durian to China, businesses mustcooperate with each other in accessing this market instead of competing onprice.
Trung suggested that the Vietnam Durian Association should engagepotential businesses to join the production chain and introduce more Vietnamesedurians to the global market.
Vu Duc Con, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture andRural Development and Chairman of the Dak Lak Durian Association, proposed thatfor sustainable durian development, the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment should issue decrees and circulars that guide the grant andmanagement of codes for growing areas, as opposed to the current technicaldocuments.
Con highlighted that the export value of Vietnamese durian rosefrom 29.2 million USD in 2016 to 420 million USD in 2022. In the first eightmonths of 2023, it reached nearly 1.2 billion USD, which is three times thevalue for the entirety of 2022.
Exports are projected to reach 1.5 billion USD for the entireyear, predominantly comprising fresh and frozen durian, which is 3.5 times the2022 value. The primary export destinations are China, Japan, and Australia.
As of August 2023, Vietnam boasts 422 coded durian growing areasand 153 coded packaging facilities that meet the export market's requirements.
Specifically, in Dak Lak, durian production has surged between2016 and 2023, from over 30,000 tonnes to about 190,000 tonnes, growing atroughly 30% annually. Of this, the output from coded growing areas is around47,300 tonnes, representing 25%. Dak Lak currently has the second-highestdurian output nationwide, following Tien Giang.
The Dak Lak Department of Industry and Trade reported that theprovince's durian exports to the Chinese market in 2022 amounted to about 11.7million USD.
For 2023, the province's durian exports are projected to be around40,000 to 45,000 tonnes, generating approximately 150-160 million USD. Vietnamis currently home to more than 112,000 hectares of durian cultivation. Thisarea has expanded swiftly in recent years, with notable concentrations in theCentral Highlands (about 47%), Mekong Delta (around 30%), Southeast region(roughly 19%), and several other localities./.
VNA
