Proposals of localities and enterprises
On the afternoon of May 24, in Buon Ma Thuot city, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment coordinated with the People's Committee of Dak Lak province to organize a conference to develop the durian industry sustainably.
Here, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung (founder of Nafoods Group Joint Stock Company) affirmed that the unit will try to pioneer in deep processing durian. The durian area does not need to be expanded further, what is necessary is to meet the technical criteria of imported markets.
"I hope the authorities will support businesses in accessing and using high-quality durian varieties. In addition, it is necessary to improve the harvesting, preservation and deep processing process to improve product quality and value. In particular, strictly control the use of fertilizers and pesticides to ensure safety and sustainability," Mr. Hung added.
According to Vice Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Duong Mah Tiep, the locality has a durian growing area of about 7,900 hectares. Of which, 3,300 hectares have been cleared with an output of 42,000 tons. The province has been granted 54 durian growing area codes with an area of 1,280 hectares, exported to the Chinese market.
Gia Lai currently has 11 enterprises, 16 cooperatives and 3 farming households participating in investing in growing and linking production of durian with a total area of nearly 2,900 hectares.
In the locality, the production scale is still small and fragile, and the application of science and technology is limited. The link between production, processing and consumption of agricultural products is not sustainable.
"Gia Lai province recommends that the central government soon issue regulations on sanctions for organizations and individuals who violate the use of growing area codes and packaging facilities. The Ministry also needs to soon issue quality standards for Vietnamese fruits to ensure quality and export standards...", Mr. Duong Mah Tiep proposed.
Sharing the same view with the border locality, Mr. Nguyen Thien Van - Acting Chairman of Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee said: "The Central Government needs to complete the legal basis, standards, processes, and procedures for durian products. Thereby, meeting the requirements of the import market.
At the same time, it is necessary to establish food safety testing centers, plant quarantine and inspection facilities in the province to monitor and control the presence of active ingredients".
Restructuring and improving durian quality
At the workshop, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy acknowledged and highly appreciated the contributions of local governments and businesses. Thereby, the Ministry and relevant units will research and evaluate to have the most appropriate support plan.
The Minister of Agriculture and Environment assessed that durian is one of the most impressively growing agricultural products in the past decade. The area of durian cultivation has increased nearly 6 times, to nearly 180,000 hectares. Of which, Dak Lak province alone accounts for more than 30,000 hectares. Thereby, making this fruit the main fruit in the agricultural production structure.
After only 2 years, the export turnover of this item has exceeded 3 billion USD. Durian has become one of the strategic products in the agricultural export structure of Vietnam.
In addition to the achieved achievements, the Minister of Agriculture and Environment also issued a warning and consequences of hot development and increased growing areas. In addition, there are conflicts between the speed of production expansion and the ability to organize the supply chain; between the requirements for quality control of the import market and limited domestic response capacity.
If the durian industry does not restructure systematically and specifically, it is at risk of losing the trust of customers and damaging the reputation of Vietnamese agricultural products, emphasized the Minister of Agriculture and Environment.
