Durian farmers face losses even with prices doubling

The off-season, which runs from November to early next year, has begun in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, but unlike usual, when merchants’ trucks flock to orchards to load durian, Cai Be district and Cai Lay town, the main producing areas, have been relatively quiet this year.

Off-season durians harvested in Cai Be district in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam

Nguyen Van Dang, 50, who owns a 1.2-hectare durian farm in Cai Be, said many farmers have shifted their focus to the off-season harvest as prices are usually much higher then due to the reduced supply.

Now the highest grade of durians is fetching VND200,000 (US$7.9) per kilogram, twice the usual price, he said.

Farmers in Tien Giang, including himself, started nurturing their trees in April-June for the off harvest, but as the trees began to blossom, the weather changed for the worse.

"Within two nights all the flowers fell off. I estimate my loss at around VND200 million," he lamented, adding that durian farmers have never had such a bad year.

Luong Van Han, a farmer in Cai Lay, said few orchards in his area have flowered.

"My 2,000-square-meter (0.2-hectare) orchard has over 30 durian trees. Last year I managed to harvest three tons of fruits in the off-season, but I have only gotten a few hundred kilograms this year."

According to locals, it takes five years for durian trees to mature and bear fruit, and the initial investment required is around VND2 billion per hectare.

Durians being loaded onto a truck in Cai Be district in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, Nov. 11, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam

Dang has decided to prepare his trees for the main season starting next April though many others continue to treat theirs in the hope they will yield fruits by the start of next year.

The Cai Be Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said in the district 2,400 ha of durian are harvested in the off-season, but this year only 30% have produced fruits.

Vo Van Men of the Tien Giang Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection said local farmers are experienced in tending durian trees, and so only the extreme weather, alternating between prolonged rains and intense heat, is to blame for the poor harvest.

Off-season durians in Pham Minh Tung's orchard in Tien Giang province's Cai Be district. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam

Pham Minh Tung, 20, of Cai Be, one of the few farmers to have a successful harvest, said growers should allow their trees to grow healthy shoots before trying to get them to flower.

"During rainy days it is necessary to closely monitor your orchard. Should flowers start to drop, farmers must treat their trees appropriately within a few hours.

"After this golden window it will be very difficult to save the trees."

As of early 2024 the Mekong Delta had 33,000 ha of durian that produce an estimated 330,000 tons of fruit a year.

Tien Giang alone accounts for 21,000 ha, while Can Tho City and Dong Thap and Ben Tre provinces each have around 2,000 ha.