Durian growers concerned about how to sell products

Prices fall by more than a half

Krong Pak district is known as the durian capital of Dak Lak province with 3,407 hectares of durian trees of which 2,500 ha are producing commercial fruits with total output of roundly 40,000 tons.

According to statistics, the total production value of durians in 2020 was estimated at VND1,500 billion, accounting for 30% of net production value of all crops in the district. However, this year's harvest is taking place in the time of the Covid-19 outbreak making it hard to sell the fruits outside the province.

Tran Tien Tai in Ea Phe commnue, Krong Pak district said his family has over 4 tons of Ri6 durians coming the reaping but he don't know how to sell his fruits.

"Durian prices are dropping drastically due to the impact of Covid-19. Now, we just hope authorities can help us to sell fruits so that we can get back what we invested in the orchard", Tai said.

A trader at Tan An Market (Buon MaThuat City) said although durian harvest is already under way no trader dares to collect fruits.

"Durian prices are plunging sharply. But the circulation of goods faces difficulties due to the complicated situation of the Covid-19. Few days ago, I bought 2 tons of durians to ship to customers in the Central region. However the shipment arrived late and fruits were rotten due to the impact of the pandemic. Many tons of durians can't be shipped", the trader said.

Nguyen Van Nam, in Cu Kuin district, Dak Lak province, said the current prices of durians are 2-3 times lower than last year. Specifically, at the beginning of this year, traders came to the orchards and offered VND40,000 per kilogram as deposit for Ri6 and Dona durians, but no farmer dared to keep the down payment.

"Currently, the best Ri6 durians are sold at only VND15,000 per kilogram but growers have to pick fruits and transport to checkpoints to sell to traders. However, they just buy in small amount and little by little. Growers want to sell as many fruits as possible to make up for their investment in the orchards", Nam said.

Similarly, Y H'rah E Ban in Ea Tu commune, Buon Ma Thuot city, has 100 durian trees intercropped in the coffee plantation and their fruits are ready for harvest.  In recent days, Y H'Rah has stood and fidgeted because traders are afraid of buying fruits due to the complicated situation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"To have such a productive durian orchard, we have to borrow money to invest in the orchard. If durian can't be sold we don't know how to manage", Y H'Rah worried.

According to the data of Dak Lak's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has 12,224 hectares of durian trees of which 5,216 hectares are producing fruits with estimated production of 103,209 tons. Durian trees are grown popularly in all districts of the province but concentrated in the districts of Krong Pak, Krong Nang, Buon Ho and Cu M'gar.

Traders get stuck in Buon Ma Thuot

Chairman of Dak Lak Fruit Association, Nguyen Thanh Son said a lot of traders are now in Buon Ma Thuot City. However they can't go to orchards to buy durians because the city is implementing Directive No.16.

According to Son, prices of Ri6 durians are now plunge by a half compared to the same period last year while other traditional durian varieties can't be sold.

"Recently, we have contacted Soc Trang Pia Cake Association to sell durians, but they are also implementing Directive No.16 so fruits can't enter. Some factories are now buying durians to process frozen durian flesh for exports but they only buy a small amount", Son said.

The chairman of Dak Lak Fruit Association said, in the past, most of Dak Lak durians were bought by businesses for export to China by unofficial channel. In the face of the Covid-19, China has tightened the control the procedures of agriculture imports so the province's durian export is expected to face many difficulties.

"Dak Lak does not have large enough cool storage warehouses to help grower store durians.  Currently, durians fall    a lot but no one come to buy. The association sent proposal to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the province to ask for help and we are waiting the feedback," Son said.

Head of the Office of Agriculture and Rural Development of Krong Pak district Nguyen Huy Hoang informed that to help local growers solve problem, the office gathered data on cultivation area, production to ask the Department of Industry and Trade and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to take measures on supporting the consumption."

However, in the long term, the district is also in dire need of assistance from the central ministries in developing geographical indication (GI) and building brand for Krong Pak durians to ensure the stability of the market for fruits even when prices go up and down. This is a solution to cope with the market fluctuations, especially in the context of the complicated situation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Dak Lak Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, from the beginning of the harvest season, the department asked localities to report on the production and consumption of agricultural products, gathering the data on the production of key products that need to be connected to market; thereby making plan and finding solutions to remove difficulties and boost the consumption and transportation of agricultural products in the province.

The agricultural department also asked the district-level People's Committee to proactively make plan on getting agricultural products to the market in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak, especially for local farm products have huge production and harvest are under way like durians.

At the same time, considering the capacity of cool storage warehouses of local enterprises to be available for use inside or outside province when needed.