The directive highlights that durian has emerged as one of Vietnam’s fastest-growing and highest-value agricultural exports, making a significant contribution to the country's fruit and vegetable export revenue.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, as of 2024, durian cultivation area covered nearly 180,000 hectares, with an estimated output of 1.5 million tons. Export turnover reached approximately US$3.2 billion, accounting for 47 percent of Vietnam’s total fruit and vegetable export value. From 2015 to 2024, the durian-growing area expanded at an average annual rate of 19.5 percent, and it is expected to continue rapidly.
However, in recent times, Vietnam’s durian exports have faced several challenges at certain periods, impacting export volumes, added value, and the profitability of producers and exporters. The main reason stems from additional regulatory measures imposed by some importing countries on Vietnamese durian. Moreover, the rapid expansion of durian cultivation in several localities poses significant risks to the sustainable development of the sector.
To proactively address these challenges and enhance competitiveness while ensuring the stable and sustainable production and export of durian, the Prime Minister has requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to focus on directing durian production in line with the national development plan for key fruit crops through 2025 and 2030, ensuring supply-demand balance and compliance with quality standards for domestic consumption and export markets. The ministry is also tasked with actively pursuing trade negotiations to open additional export markets for Vietnamese durian.
The Prime Minister also called for a comprehensive review, revision, and improvement of management regulations, the use of planting area codes and packaging facilities, ensuring that the rules are transparent, feasible, consistent, and aligned with international practices as well as Vietnam’s conditions.
Authorities are tasked with issuing guidelines for safe and sustainable durian production and asked to complete the mission by the third quarter; accelerate research, technology transfer, and the application of digital transformation in production, processing, distribution, quality control, and traceability, particularly post-harvest handling, such as cold storage and deep processing, aimed at improving product quality, added value, and competitiveness.
The Minister of Agriculture and Environment has organized discussions with China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) to address issues related to planting area codes, packaging facilities, and the recognition of qualified testing laboratories to come to an agreement on customs clearance procedures for Vietnamese durian exports to the Chinese market.
The Prime Minister also directed the Minister of Public Security to instruct relevant authorities to investigate and strictly handle violations such as fraud involving planting area and packaging codes, falsification of export documents, and other illegal activities in durian production, processing, trade, and export that could negatively impact the industry’s reputation and export performance.
