Durian picking profession - Tay Ninh Online Newspaper

Although durian picking has a high income, it is a dangerous job with many potential risks.

Each group has about 15-20 people (mostly from the West), depending on the amount of durian cut, each pair of workers (the cutter, the harvester) is paid differently, from 1.5-2 million VND/day. The pickers are paid 1.2-1.5 million VND. In addition to the workers who specialize in cutting and harvesting durian, there are about 5-6 people who transport durian from the garden to the truck, weigh and arrange each fruit onto the truck.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung (28 years old, living in Bau Don commune) is one of a group of 20 people who work as durian pickers. Since the age of 15, he has traveled with traders from Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Tien Giang, Tay Ninh ... to pick and cut durian. He said that the group usually picks 8-10 tons of durian/day, sometimes up to 15 tons/day. This job only lasts for more than a month, after which they will go to another province to continue picking durian.

“Cutting quickly or slowly depends on each garden and the height of the durian tree. Old durian trees with lush branches and leaves will be harder to pick. On the contrary, durian trees that have been harvested for a few years are easier to harvest and have higher productivity,” said Mr. Dung.

On average, each worker who cuts and picks durian earns nearly 50 million VND/crop. This is a high-income job compared to other stable jobs. However, this job also has many potential risks, hardships and dangers due to climbing tall trees, heavy durians, sharp thorns, if not cut carefully or not caught correctly, it can cause injury, endangering life.

The durian harvest season is expected to last until mid-June 2023. After deducting costs and labor, garden owners will earn an average profit of VND800 million - 1 billion/ha. The durian harvest not only brings the garden owners here a "good harvest, good price" but also brings good income to seasonal workers from other places.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung (28 years old, living in Bau Don commune) is one of a group of 20 people working as durian pickers.

Ri6 Bau Don durian, OCOP 4-star, is popular with consumers.

With many years of experience, just by looking at the color of the skin and tapping lightly on the fruit, Mr. Dung can tell if the durian is ripe enough to cut.