Talking numbers
According to the annual economic report of the Mekong Delta region 2025, in the period 2023 - 2025, Vietnam's import and exports maintained positive growth, with total goods turnover increasing by over 15%/year; exports in 2025 are estimated at 475 billion USD.
In which, seafood, vegetables and fruits and rice continue to be the three pillars of the Mekong Delta, contributing 5-6% of the country's total turnover. The boost of official exports has opened up a period of strong growth for durian specialized farming areas, especially the new Dong Thap after merging with Tien Giang. In 2024, the durian area in Tien Giang reached 16.4 thousand hectares, with an output of 462.6 thousand tons, an increase of more than 80% compared to 2021. In the old Dong Thap area, the fruit area increased 5.5 times, and the output increased more than 9 times.
However, the durian area in the Mekong Delta continues to expand, increasing the risk of technically out of control.
Master Nguyen Phuoc Tuyen - former Director of Dong Thap Provincial Agricultural Extension Center - said that we should not only look at growth figures but also look directly at quality barriers. Vietnamese durian is currently facing strict Cadmium content control requirements, while Thailand maintains exports of 17,000 - 20,000 tons/day to China at high and stable prices.
Lock the bottleneck
According to Master Nguyen Phuoc Tuyen, it is difficult to completely remove heavy metals from the soil in the short term, but it is possible to "lock down" and disable the mobility so that tree roots do not absorb them. To solve the Cadmium problem, gardeners need to apply 3 core groups of solutions synchronously.
First, use biochar (Biochar) and organic material rich in humus. Second, apply lime combined with decomposed organic fertilizer. Third, implement the "3 no" strategy, which is not to let heavy metal and chemical residues exceed the threshold; not to let pests and diseases break out due to chemical abuse (prioritizing biological solutions, transparent farming logs); not to produce in fragmented, small-scale areas but to require sustainable chain linkages.
Key to the management capacity for the durian industry, the Master believes that farmers cannot be left alone in the "frontline" of commerce but must rebuild the "4-house" chain in a more substantive way.
In which, the State is a strategic fulcrum, with planning planting areas suitable to ecological conditions, building an early warning system for technical barriers from abroad and proactively expanding export markets to avoid dependence on a single output.
Scientists are technology support when it is necessary to focus on researching and quickly transferring biological solutions to replace chemicals at appropriate costs for farmers. At the same time, it is necessary to invest heavily in post-harvest preservation and deep processing technology.
Businesses are market bridges. Businesses need to abandon the "trade trip" mindset, invest methodically in processing technology, cold storage and preservation systems; must be ready to share risks with producers instead of pushing all pressure on farmers.
Farmers are the subjects of the transformation. When they have the "support" from the remaining three households, farmers will have enough conditions and belief to change their production thinking, comply with clean farming processes and participate in chain linkages to improve competitiveness.
The context of global competition has changed the rules of the game. The international market no longer prioritizes the country that produces the most, but chooses the country that controls the safest quality" - Mr. Tuyen added.
