Durian purchasing prices are falling sharply
In the last days of July, more than 10,000ha of durian in Da Huoai, Da Teh and Cat Tien communes entered the end of the harvest season. This is the largest durian growing area in Lam Dong province.
According to records, the purchase price at the garden has decreased sharply compared to the same period in 2025.
At Da M'ri Agricultural Cooperative, imported Ri6 durian is purchased at a price of 25,000-30,000 VND/kg, while Ri6 type A ranges from 40,000-45,000 VND/kg.
For Mongthong variety, the bulk purchase price is at 42,000-46,000 VND/kg, while type A reaches 60,000-62,000 VND/kg (down more than 20,000 VND compared to the beginning of the season).
However, the rate of fruit reaching type A of both varieties is only about 20-25%, so most gardeners choose to sell whole gardens.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nghi (Da Huoai 2 commune) said that his family has 7ha of Mongthong durian variety. Although the yield this year is about 14 tons/ha, higher than the previous crop, revenue has decreased significantly due to falling selling prices.
Last crop, with this output, the family earned more than 7 billion VND. This year, traders closed the garden at only nearly 4 billion VND, while fertilizer, pesticide and labor costs all increased. After deducting expenses, the profit is not much left," Mr. Nghi said.
According to many durian growers in Da Huoai, the cost of fertilizer and pesticides for each tree in a crop is about 2-2.2 million VND.
With an average yield of 100-120kg/tree and the current selling price, although revenue is still quite good, profit has decreased sharply due to increased input costs and labor costs.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Chau - official of the General Service Center of Da Huoai 2 commune - said that prolonged rain in July caused many durian gardens to become rough, ripen unevenly, affecting fruit quality. This is one of the reasons why the purchase price has decreased compared to last year.
Warm sunny weather, expected market recovery
Mr. Nguyen Van Hai - a durian grower in Da Huoai 3 commune - said that traders often deposit to buy gardens about 10-15 days before harvest time.
However, if unfavorable weather is encountered due to heavy rain causing fruit not to meet quality standards, the purchase price will decrease sharply, and there will even be cases where traders agree to abandon the deposit.
Da Huoai has long been considered the "durian capital" of Lam Dong, where many households have incomes from several hundred million to billions of VND per year thanks to this crop. However, the price movement at the beginning of this year has caused many gardeners to worry that profits will decrease sharply.
According to forecasts, the durian harvest in Lam Dong will last until September.
The eastern and southern localities of the province harvest first, while the Bao Loc, Bao Lam, Di Linh and some other localities enter harvest later due to weather and soil conditions.
Many gardeners expect more favorable weather in the near future, fruit quality to be improved and market demand to increase again, thereby helping durian prices recover in the middle and late seasons.
