Old farmer becomes 'billionaire' thanks to off-season durian

Thanks to the risk of becoming a billionaire

Mr. Chin Em's house is currently among the most spacious houses in Long Thanh commune. Inside, the space is spacious, especially noticeable with a wall hanging with about 30 certificates of merit, from the province's commendation to the Prime Minister's and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Association ... Those are certificates of merit honoring Mr. Chin Em's good economic performance, thanks to growing durian in the off-season.

Mr. Vo Chin Em made a breakthrough to get rich by growing durian in the off-season. PHOTO: THANH DUY

Talking about his journey of starting a business with durian, Mr. Chin Em often mentioned the two words "taking risks" as an important part that led to success. Because before, he, like many other farmers in the area, made a living by growing rice. But when the price of rice was unstable, everyone still stuck to the fields, so he pioneered in renovating garden ditches to grow durian.

Mr. Chin Em lets durian trees bear fruit from around November to February of the following year. PHOTO: THANH DUY

In 2013, durian produced its first crop, and Mr. Chin Em was happy because of the bumper crop and good prices. But just one year later, this fruit also faced the same situation as rice, when the harvest season came, it "collided" with other places, causing the price to drop. Seeing this, the following year, he decided to "take a risk" again, which was to boldly plant durian in the off-season with the hope that when selling, there would be less market competition so that the price would be better.

Hard work but high price

According to Mr. Chin Em, a durian crop takes about 7 months. For farmers who work in the right season, they will bear fruit around April - July. As for his off-season method, durian will bear fruit around November to February of the following year. Bearing durian fruit in the wrong season is more difficult than in the right season, because the care time falls during the rainy season, and water must be regularly tightened so that the tree is not affected. In addition, the sap of the tree is covered and the flowers are washed after each rain, whether big or small.

Mr. Vo Trung Tinh (son of Mr. Chin Em) said that his family is quite assured about the price of off-season durian, despite the current market fluctuations. PHOTO: THANH DUY

Mr. Chin Em said that off-season durian can be considered a way to "force" durian to bear fruit out of its natural growth period. Therefore, the process of making the leaves wither, flowering, pistil blooming, and fruit nurturing has many risks. Not only that, the recovery of the tree after harvest is also more complicated than usual.

"The most important secret is the reasonable use of fertilizers and pesticides, providing nutrients for the tree to recover and grow. Back then, when traders came to the garden to buy durian, I asked about similar growing places, then went all the way to Long An, Tien Giang, Binh Phuoc ... to learn. The experience is self-taught and self-accumulated, and at first I didn't rely on any engineers," he shared.

Growing durian in the off-season costs a lot of investment and has lower productivity, but the advantage is that it can be sold at a higher price and is more profitable than growing in the right season. In the most recent crop, Thai Monthong durian was purchased at 115,000-120,000 VND/kg, Ri6 durian was 60,000-70,000 VND. This figure is sometimes double or even triple the price when sold in the right season. In the 2024 crop, more than 800 durian trees yielded 60 tons, Mr. Chin Em earned a profit of more than 2 billion VND.

This year, Mr. Chin Em's off-season durian garden has about 3,500 trees that will bear fruit, with an expected yield of over 100 tons. PHOTO: THANH DUY

After more than 10 years of growing durian in the off-season, from an average farmer, Mr. Chin Em has made a breakthrough to become rich. Some people looking at his property even call him one of the "billionaires" in the West. From the initial 17 hectares of durian he converted to grow, he has had the capital to buy an additional 20 hectares of land. Recently, taking advantage of his success, he has also rented more land in the locality, Nga Bay City, Chau Thanh District to expand the scale of the growing area.

"I am growing off-season durian on an area of ​​over 45 hectares, of which 15 hectares have a growing area code and can be exported abroad. This year, about 3,500 durian trees will bear fruit. With such a scale, I have asked my children to help manage and look after it. I have also established a cooperative with over 10 members. If anyone has a need, I am willing to share so that everyone can work together to do business effectively," Mr. Chin Em confided.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lao-nong-thanh-ti-phu-nho-sau-rieng-nghich-mua-185250507160452358.htm