The 2025 durian crop in Soc Trang province has been basically harvested, only a few gardens are waiting for late fruit.
Mr. Huynh Thanh Le - Director of Trinh Loi Agricultural Cooperative, Ba Trinh Commune (Ke Sach District, Soc Trang Province) - said: "This year, durian prices have almost tripled. At one point, I sold it for 145,000 VND/kg, at other times it was 120,000 VND, and then 105,000 VND. I sold many times, some times only 50,000 VND/kg".
Mr. Le said that compared to 2024, the price has decreased, but not to the point of being at a loss: "Last year, we sold it for 85,000 VND/kg, this year, there was a time when there were only 50,000 VND, of course there was a loss. But I have carefully calculated, from investment, fertilizer, care, and equipment depreciation, the total is about 18,000 VND/kg. Selling for 50,000 VND still makes a profit of 32,000 VND".
Mr. Le said that this is not a subjective assessment, but after many cases, he and local agricultural officials sit and calculate production costs if well controlled, applied according to an advanced farming process, usually only from 18,000 - 20,000 VND/kg. However, in reality, some farmers may have to pay higher costs due to traditional farming methods that have not optimized input materials. Households that know how to reduce chemicals, apply smart water irrigation, and use fertilizer properly can all reduce costs without affecting productivity.
Mr. Le informed that due to the weather, the fruit processing was not as expected, but the total output still reached about 17-18 tons, although only more than half of the fruit garden area was used. With fluctuating selling prices, average income this year is still over 300 million VND.
Similarly, farmer Nguyen Hoang Anh, a durian grower in Ke Sach district (Soc Trang province) also ended this year's durian crop with an income of about 300 million VND. "This season the garden has a yield of 16 tons. The production cost is about 18,000 VND/kg, selling for 50,000 VND is still profitable," said Mr. Hoang Anh.
Mr. Hoang Anh also commented that although gardeners are still profitable, the functional sector still needs solutions to develop the market sustainably, especially the export market, which is under a lot of pressure on standards and growing area codes. "The price is 40,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, farmers make a profit, but if it decreases further, their income will decrease significantly and if the price does not hit rock bottom, farmers will be left empty-handed. Because durian only grows once a year. This greatly affects households that grow durian without other livelihoods," said Mr. Hoang Anh.
Mr. Tran Van Toan - Head of the Ke Sach District Crop and Plant Protection Station (Soc Trang Province) informed that the whole district currently has about 2,500 hectares of durian, of which about 1,700 hectares are bearing fruit. This crop, the yield is from 18 - 20 tons/ha. With a selling price of 40,000 - 50,000 VND, farmers can still make a profit of about 50% or more if they do the right technique, use fertilizer properly, enough to cover living expenses and reinvest.
