Vietnamese coffee farmers switch to durian as Chinese demand surges
Vietnam's Central Highlands farmers are moving from coffee to durian, with planted area surging fivefold to 200,000ha in a decade. Vietnam overtook Thailand last year as China's top durian supplier by volume, with exports forecast to hit US$4 billion in 2026.
Vietnam's Central Highlands, source of about one-sixth of the world's coffee, is seeing a wave of farmers swap their traditional crop for durian as Chinese demand for the pungent fruit surges. The area planted with durian nationwide has soared more than fivefold to 200,000 hectares over the past decade, according to the agriculture ministry. "You can live okay with coffee, but it's durian that makes you rich," said Pham Xuan Lan, a farmer in Dak Lak province's Ea Knuec commune, who expects to earn US$76,000 this year from his 400 durian trees, against US$10,000 had he stuck with coffee.
Vietnam only officially entered the Chinese durian market after a 2022 trade protocol, but last year it became China's biggest supplier by volume, ending Thailand's near two-decade dominance. The boom is driven by demand from China, fueled by growing popularity on social media, with videos of users cracking open fruit on Douyin watched billions of times. China imported almost US$7.5 billion worth of fresh durian last year, a near 12-fold rise from 2015.
Vietnam's durian exports are expected to reach US$4 billion this year, up from US$180 million in 2021, with 90 per cent heading north. But the rapid expansion has sparked warnings from the government, which flagged in early August the "risks of oversupply and loss of quality control as the planted area is increasing rapidly." Farmers warn durian requires a strict mix of humidity, water and fertilisers; Lan likened growing it to "raising a child - I can give you all the tricks but I cannot guarantee you similar success."
Some have already retreated. Hung, a farmer who gave only one name, switched entirely from coffee to durian five years ago but switched back two years ago, admitting it was too hard to produce the required quality. "I could not do it. I failed," the 42-year-old said. "So I would never go back to durian again." Many farmers in the Central Highlands are now focusing on premium Ri6, Musang King and Dona varieties, while Beijing is seeking to boost its own homegrown produce on Hainan island, though a provincial agricultural expert acknowledged those will remain "just a supplement to Southeast Asian durians."
