As the largest import market, the opening of China to Vietnamese durian fruit is opening up great opportunities for farmers to grow this high-value fruit variety.
September 17, 2022, will be a memorable day for durian growers across the country. Because this marks the event that the first 100 tons of durians have been officially exported to China under the Protocol on phytosanitary requirements between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Department of Customs of China. Country. This event will open up opportunities for Vietnam's durian growers to increase exports of this valuable commodity to a market of billions of people.

Mekong Delta ripens early but "slowly"

According to the list of growing area codes and packing facilities announced by the General Administration of Customs of China, out of 51 approved planting area codes, the Mekong Delta only has 3 codes for Tien Giang, 2 codes for Ben Tre, and Long An 2 codes. As for the packing facilities eligible for export, Tien Giang has 10 codes, Ben Tre 3 codes, and Dong Thap 1 code. It can be seen that the "slowness" of the Mekong Delta region is competing with other regions in this potential "race". So what are the advantages and opportunities for the land dubbed "nine dragons" in exporting durian to the world's most populous market?

The Mekong Delta is not the only region that grows durian in the country, but it is the area that harvests the earliest durian season, which falls between April and May, with typical durian varieties such as Ri6, Monthong, and 9 chemical. Earlier than the Khanh Son growing area (Khanh Hoa province) from July to the end of August and the Central Highlands from August to mid-September.

Not to mention in the care process, people in the West have experience in handling durian fruit all year round to meet the needs of the market. As in Tien Giang - the largest durian growing locality in the Mekong Delta, with an area of about 15,000 hectares, the harvest will be adjusted from January to March; or like Can Tho city from March to May. So with durian "out of phase" compared to other specialized growing areas, durian in the Mekong Delta is easy to take shortcuts.

The Mekong Delta has an area of durian cultivation, second only to the Central Highlands, with a rapidly increasing area, 15,000 hectares in 2017, 28,000 hectares in 2021, and an annual output of about 310,000 tons. If compared with the durian growing area across the country (2020) of 71,381 hectares, with an output of 588,025 tons, it can be seen that the impressive number that the Mekong Delta has. Therefore, building material areas in the direction of VietGAP and GlobalGAP is inevitable.

Great opportunity for official durian export to China - Photo 1
The first durian truck from Vietnam moved to Huu Nghi Quan Border Gate (China) to complete import procedures into China.
FAN HOUSE

In order to aim for quality-oriented construction, growers and technicians need to master the requirements for the process of granting planting area codes and packing facilities; recordkeeping; application of fertilizers and pesticides as well as residue monitoring program and phytosanitary inspection in accordance with the prescribed order.

In addition, gardeners need to invest in automatic watering and spraying systems to both save costs and protect the environment. At the same time, the durian specialized garden must ensure the correct technique: row-to-row, and tree-to-tree, both to ensure productivity and to prevent pests and diseases. And should not be intercropped with other plants, easy to transmit diseases through durian trees. And at the packing facility, there are also separate requirements, instructions for assessing pests, and instructions for using the electronic diary My Dairy Farm.

Organic farming - the inevitable and sustainable direction

This is a common trend and Vietnamese farmers have to change their production thinking on their own so that Vietnamese agricultural products can enter many more strict markets, not just China.

For example, in the same area, if compared with inorganic farming methods, the yield of organic durian trees will be much lower. While the investment cost in the first 3 years is very expensive, the yield is low, and the ability to recover capital is a huge obstacle for gardeners.

Because they want to bring high economic efficiency to quickly get profits, most gardeners have invested in durian care with chemical fertilizers and plant protection drugs. With this method, about 7 years after fruiting, the durian tree will quickly deplete and be susceptible to disease. While the soil will gradually lose its fertility and be difficult to improve, thereby reducing productivity and yield.

Farming with organic methods, farmers will focus on investing in the soil and using biological products to care for the plants. Therefore, compared to using chemical fertilizers, organic durian will grow slower, but the tree will grow stably and give a sustainable harvest later.

On the other hand, in the face of the current high price of input materials to care for durian trees, including fertilizers and pesticides, the application of organic production processes will reduce concerns for farmers. on investment costs. Furthermore, organic agricultural products