Durian harvest is underway in Dak Lak, yet bottlenecks involving growing area codes, packing facilities, testing and traceability are placing mounting provincial pressure.

In the 2026 harvest season, Dak Lak has approximately 44,000 hectares of durian, with nearly 30,000 hectares in production, yielding close to 500,000 tonnes. The province currently has 280 approved growing area codes covering 7,500 hectares together with 42 packing facilities approved by China. Another 165 growing areas and 66 packing facilities are awaiting approval, bringing the proportion of approved while pending coded areas to about 41.7%. Concurrently, increasingly stringent plant quarantine coupled with food safety requirements are adding additional pressure on durian exports.

Durian collection and packing warehouses across Dak Lak province opening for the new harvest season.

A representative of Chanh Thu Fruit Import Export Co., Ltd. proposed reviewing and adjusting several technical requirements for packing facilities to better reflect climatic conditions of the Central Highlands. The company also called for negotiations with the Chinese authorities to allow violations to be isolated as well as rectified within affected areas, rather than suspending an entire growing area code.

Representing the cooperative sector, Mr. Nguyen Huu Chien, Director of Tan Lap Dong Agricultural Cooperative in Ea Ning commune, noted that most durian orchards are intercropped with coffee or located on former state-owned agricultural and forestry land. "If the requirement for a minimum 10-hectare monoculture area set by China cannot be met, we propose more flexible guidance allowing growing area codes to be granted under Vietnamese standards for plots of one to two hectares", he said.

These practical recommendations are also providing the basis for policy adjustments by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep said the ministry is urgently amending Decree No. 38/2026/ND-CP by removing rigid regulations on growing area size, clarifying criteria for specialised alongside intercropped cultivation areas, while simplifying procedures for issuing growing area codes.

Strengthening management to safeguard the brand

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, a single shipment containing excessive Cadmium, Auramine O, or plant quarantine violations could trigger suspension of an entire growing area code or packing facility, causing substantial losses for hundreds of farmers alongside associated enterprises.

A durian orchard in Krong Pac commune.

Ahead of the 2026 harvest season, the province plans to collect 120 samples for Cadmium and pesticide residues testing, combined with 60 samples from packing facilities to monitor Auramine O. It will also pilot the nationwide agricultural traceability system on a broad scale through QR codes, enabling rapid product traceability whenever importing markets issue warnings.

The province has also prioritised eliminating the misuse of growing area codes, including borrowing, leasing or counterfeiting codes, mixing products of unknown origin into approved growing areas, together with engaging in unfair purchasing practices during periods of rising prices.

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep, maintaining market confidence requires the entire production chain to adopt a responsible production mindset, ensuring full product traceability, clearly defining the responsibilities of every stakeholder, while strictly handling all fraudulent activities. He also expressed expectation that Dak Lak would become the country's first "green lane province" for agricultural exports.

To strengthen discipline across the entire value chain, the Provincial Party Standing Committee has ordered the establishment of an inter-agency coordination mechanism involving six forces: Agriculture and Environment, Industry and Trade, Public Security, Customs, Taxation, together with local authorities.

In particular, the Public Security force has been assigned to proactively monitor the situation, investigate and strictly handle the buying, selling, leasing, lending or illegal use of growing area codes alongside packing facility codes, while cracking down on cases of proxy investment by traders from other provinces.

Translated by KHUONG THAO