Le Thi Ngoc Bich, a durian grower, inspects freshly picked durians at an orchard in Lam Dong, Vietnam, on June 26. HU JIALI/XINHUA
LAM DONG, Vietnam — Perched atop durian trees in Da Huoai Commune of Vietnam's central province of Lam Dong, harvester Ho Minh Nhat carefully cuts loose each spiky fruit, knowing that many of them will soon begin their journey to China.
Nhat, who travels between Vietnam's southeastern and southwestern regions during the harvest season, said the expansion of official durian exports to China since 2022 has made prices more stable than in the past, when growers depended mainly on the domestic market.
"Life used to be much harder before durians were officially exported to China. We can now afford more meat and other foods that used to be considered expensive," he said.
The improvement is also evident in the orchards where growers like Le Thi Ngoc Bich have seen their incomes rise alongside the expansion of durian exports to China.
