Bringing 5-star OCOP frozen durian to the far

TikTok Shop Vietnam conducts Megalive session of frozen durian products meeting 5-star OCOP standards in Cho Lach district.

Freezing with modern technology

General Director of Chanh Thu Group Ngo Tuong Vy said: “Bringing the 5-star OCOP standard Ri 6 durian product to people in the domestic market has been our concern for many years. Logistics operations for fruit products, especially frozen products, is a very important issue. To get the product to consumers as quickly as possible, ensuring the freshness and deliciousness as the supplier wants to bring to consumers, this is a very difficult problem.”

DuriVy brand frozen whole durian of Chanh Thu Fruit Import-Export Corporation (Chanh Thu Group) uses liquid nitrogen freezing technology, helping to preserve nutrients, flavor and natural color. This product has conquered the evaluation council, as a result, on July 4, 2024, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam signed and issued Decision No. 2171 approving the results of the evaluation and classification of products of the National "One Commune One Product" Program in 2024. Accordingly, Ben Tre province has frozen durian products of Chanh Thu Fruit Import-Export Company Limited (Hoa Nghia commune, Cho Lach district) achieving 5 stars as "National OCOP product" in 2024.

This is of great significance to the province's specialty fruit, as Cai Mon durian has been protected by geographical indication. The province has now established a durian production area with a total linked area of ​​208.09 hectares, with 1 cooperative and 2 cooperative groups participating in the link with enterprises, with a linked output of about 2,500 tons/year; the area of ​​durian certified by VietGAP is 148.38 hectares. “This time, we are running a trial livestream session selling “DuriVy brand whole frozen durian” OCOP 5 stars. However, the delivery range is only within a 15km radius of Hanoi city and customers from many provinces and cities across the country have asked to buy and this is a topic for Viettel Post. Therefore, at the workshop, we hope to propose solutions for cold storage centers, because this product must be stored at the right temperature to retain its deliciousness. This will be our strategy in 2025, which Chanh Thu Group, together with TikTok Shop Vietnam, Viettel Post, will introduce whole frozen durian products to domestic consumers.”

Promotional solutions

General Director of Chanh Thu Group Ngo Tuong Vy said: “We are very fortunate to have the advantage of the Ri 6 durian variety - a durian variety that only Vietnam has. I have researched a lot about durians from other countries, I confirm that Vietnam's Ri 6 durian is very delicious. The color is eye-catching, the quality is good, but the problem is how to ensure consistent quality. This problem can only be solved from the stage of the chain of farmers, which must be extremely tight and sustainable... to work with businesses to bring Vietnamese durian to improve quality and reach further in the market."

In the series of events of the Cho Lach Flower and Ornamental Festival in 2025, many activities to introduce and promote Cho Lach durian attracted experts to share and suggest new development directions for the king fruit of the South - "durian" such as: TikTok Shop organized the Megalive session of the first 5-star OCOP frozen durian product in Vietnam; workshop "Solutions to promote cross-border e-commerce of standard frozen Vietnamese durian products".

Sharing on the sidelines of the events, Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center - AGRITRADE (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) Nguyen Minh Tien said: In 2024, the agricultural sector has achieved many impressive achievements. In terms of export turnover, it is the first year to reach 62.5 billion USD, exports increased by nearly 19% compared to 2023. In particular, there is a great contribution from fruit products, this is also the first time that our country's fruit export turnover has reached over 7.1 billion USD. In particular, with durian products alone, it has reached 3.3 billion USD in exports. The country's durian export turnover has a great contribution from the Mekong Delta provinces such as Ben Tre, Tien Giang and some localities.

Vietnam is currently ranked in the top 3 in the world in terms of durian area and output. Our advantage is the timing of the crop. “We can extend the durian harvest season from January to the end of December, while other countries only focus on the period from May to October. However, in the current conditions of strong development in durian area and output, it poses challenges for us in terms of how to maintain and stabilize, improve quality. As well as further expand the market to avoid the situation where it will be very difficult to sell at peak harvest time,” added Nguyen Minh Tien, Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Tien, a number of businesses, including Chanh Thu Group, have proactively invested in refrigeration systems, applying new technologies, cooling with liquid nitrogen. This technology ensures that the quality of durian does not change much compared to fresh durian. If stored in cool conditions, around minus 18 ^degrees Celsius to minus 21 ^degrees Celsius, it can be kept for 1-2 years, thus contributing to expanding the consumption market for Vietnamese durian during the main season. In particular, from 2024, the Vietnamese Government and the Chinese Government have signed an agreement to officially import frozen durian from Vietnam to the Chinese market. This will open up an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses.

“Freezing whole durian is not easy. The durian must be at the right ripeness before freezing, so that when thawed, it will still be at the right ripeness. The 5-star OCOP durian product is the Ri 6 variety, freezing the Ri 6 variety is even more difficult, because when ripe, the fruit will easily crack and will have a bitter taste. Therefore, the fruit selection stage is extremely important and the skill of the person selecting the fruit before freezing must be proficient.”

(General Director of Chanh Thu Group Ngo Tuong Vy)

Article and photos: Thach Thao

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/kinh-te/thuong-mai/dua-sau-rieng-cap-dong-chuan-ocop-5-sao-vuon-xa-a141015.html