Vietnamese durian farmers face thorny issues that could threaten growing demand from China

HANOI: As Southeast Asia battles heatwaves and drought, Vietnamese farmers of the “king of tropical fruits” are increasingly concerned about lower quality of their harvests to feed a growing number of Chinese consumers.

“The key problem of this durian harvest season is the prolonged drought and sea water intrusion that decreased the yield and quality of Vietnam’s durian farms,” Dr Vo Huu Thoai, director of the country’s Southern Fruit Institute, told CNA.

“The problem is set to get worse in the coming years if we don’t act fast enough to implement the solutions.”

Since China agreed to officially import fresh durians from Vietnam in July 2022, Vietnam’s export of the thorny fruit has skyrocketed, reaching US$2.2 billion last year – a 10-fold increase over the previous year. 

It managed to put a dent in Thailand’s dominance as the largest durian exporter to China for more than a decade.

Many in Vietnam call durians the fruit of gold, as a hectare of it can generate an estimated US$70,000 in profits for growers in a good harvest. In comparison, a hectare of rice or coffee can generate about US$6,000 in profits every year.

Durian exports to China, the biggest consumer market for the thorny fruit, are expected to further increase to US$3.5 billion this year. 

However, this rise is facing an uncertain future – not just because of climate change but also the impact of hydropower dams built on the Mekong River.

HYDROPOWER DAMS, SALTWATER INTRUSION

Nearly half of the country’s durian harvest comes from the Mekong Delta.

In recent years, changing weather patterns and worsening saltwater intrusion there have threatened durian farms in the region.

“It’s increasingly difficult to farm durian,” durian farmer Tran Van Nghia told CNA.

Mr Nghia was among the first to import Monthong durian trees from Thailand more than two decades ago to grow in Vietnam’s southern Tien Giang province, located along the banks of the Mekong River. The region has now become a main hub of Vietnam’s durian production.

Mr Nghia worked with university professors and agricultural experts to find and share the best techniques to farm durian. 

“The biggest threat to durians is saltwater. Durian trees are highly susceptible to salt water,” he said.

Farmers like Mr Nghia are suffering from the impact of hydropower dams built upstream of the Mekong River that store vast amounts of water, resulting in lower water levels flowing downstream where Vietnamese farmers grow durian.

This means that seawater flows deeper into the Mekong – up to 120km upstream in a bad year. The water then becomes too salty for durian trees, especially during dry seasons.

“There is a significant drop this year in the water flow coming down to the Mekong delta because of upstream reservoirs and dams in China, Thailand and Laos,” Dr Tran Ba Hoang, director of the Vietnam Southern Institute for Water Resources, told CNA.

Salt intrusion has been worse than usual this year due to the El Nino phenomenon.

Vietnamese authorities are scrambling to expand networks of sluice gates and irrigation systems on the tributaries of the Mekong River to keep out saltwater.

Farmers are also doing everything they can, such as storing fresh water in ponds, lakes and canals as well as installing more efficient irrigation facilities.

However, Mr Nghia expects more difficult harvests in the coming years as conditions are set to get worse.

STATE OF EMERGENCY OVER DROUGHT

Several provinces in Vietnam’s southern region have declared a state of emergency over drought, with tens of thousands of people suffering from severe shortages of fresh water as extreme drought and salinisation are exacerbated by a prolonged heatwave.

With a lack of rain in more than four months, thousands of people in Tien Giang have to rely on charity groups that deliver water trucks to the area to provide water. Local residents also have to spend hours in long queues with containers to receive distributed water.

A Tien Giang resident told CNA that her son waited four hours from 11pm to 3am the next day in a queue to get water.

OVERSUPPLY CONCERNS

Vietnamese farmers have also been rapidly expanding durian farms due to its high economic values, raising concerns among agricultural authorities.

“Farmers in many areas have been switching from growing rice and coffee to durian for higher economic returns,” said Southern Fruit Institute’s Dr Vo Huu Thoai.

Vietnam said it has 150,000 hectares of durian across the country, higher than the target of 75,000 hectares set by Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

About half of Vietnamese durian farms are bearing fruit, producing 1.2 million tonnes of durian last year. This is set to double in the next few years.

Vietnam’s agriculture authorities have tried to stop the ongoing expansion in durian farms due to oversupply concerns. So far, China has approved only about 13 per cent of Vietnam’s durian farms that meet requirements for export to the China market.

Experts have also expressed concerns over efforts to increase the quality of Vietnam’s durian export, as the country wants to compete with other exporters in the region such as Thailand and Malaysia.