Go to the garden to eat the specialty of ripe durian

Recently, there has been information that Vietnamese durian exports are facing difficulties due to heavy metal residues, pesticides, especially the method of dipping chemicals to ripen durian, which affects the health of consumers. Accordingly, the trend of consumers going to the garden or ordering ripe durian is currently increasing.

Durian selling point right at the garden in Thong Nhat district. Photo: B.Nguyen

Consumers are willing to travel to the garden and pay high prices to buy the real specialty of ripe durian. To meet this demand, many gardeners are interested in clean production, so that ripe durian can serve the needs of consumers.

Unique durian garden

A Hong's fallen durian garden in Nguyen Thai Hoc hamlet (Bau Ham 2 commune, Thong Nhat district) is one of the pioneering gardeners implementing the model of selling fallen ripe durian in the garden. For more than 10 years, every year during durian season, this gardener is always bustling with customers coming to the garden to buy and enjoy fallen ripe durian. Here, customers can freely stroll around the garden, pick up fallen durians still lying under the tree, enjoy them right in the garden and buy them as gifts. The price of fallen ripe durian sold in the garden is much higher than the average price for traders to buy, but the gardener is still not worried about losing customers.

Sharing the story of making fallen durian, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong, owner of the fallen durian garden A Hong, said: “I am not a farmer, but in the past, when I bought fallen durian to eat or give as gifts, I often encountered unripe, unappetizing durian. Therefore, I decided to grow my own to make delicious durian.”

Currently, many gardeners in the province have shifted to producing clean fruits for retail sale to local people as well as consumers across the provinces and cities. In addition to selling directly in the garden, many farmers have learned how to sell online through e-commerce sites and social media channels...

Mr. Hong invested in a 1.1 hectare durian garden, growing many different specialty varieties such as: Ri 6, Dona, Monthong, Musang King. Right from the first harvest of durian, he let the ripe fruit fall off the tree by itself, instead of cutting the old fruit and selling it to traders like other gardeners.

According to Mr. Hong, only skilled farmers dare to let durian fall, because if the durian is allowed to fall naturally, the gardener will encounter many problems such as: the fruit is easily hard, the rate of damage is high... To have a durian garden that completely produces ripe, fallen fruit with good quality like today is a process of learning with expensive tuition fees for this amateur farmer. In particular, he chose to garden organically because only by keeping the soil healthy and the trees healthy is the basis for producing clean, safe fruit.

Mr. Hong proudly boasted: “In a bumper year, my family’s durian garden yields more than 30 tons of fruit, all of which are sold to retail consumers. Thanks to the techniques used in flower and fruit processing, the durian garden is often harvested a month earlier than the main harvest season in the province. The price of my durian is always high, not only because it is guaranteed to be delicious and safe, but also because it is the first fruit of the season and the supply is scarce. Therefore, even though my garden is located in a deep alley, consumers still come to me.”

During the peak harvest season, Mr. Hong's family's durian garden harvests an average of more than 1 ton of fallen ripe fruit each day, but he is always proud that every fallen fruit has a buyer. On Saturdays and Sundays, A Hong's fallen durian garden is often crowded with customers as if it were a festival because retail customers from many places come to buy. He has a source of regular customers from all over the country, from Cao Bang province to Ca Mau , and overseas Vietnamese who know him well come to the garden to enjoy the fallen ripe durian.

Opportunity for farmers to sell clean fruit themselves

Seeing that consumers are willing to pay high prices for ripe durian, many gardeners have also started to switch to selling durian that is ripe on the tree. This consumption trend is also attracting many small traders and traders to participate.

Mr. Mai Van Thong, a durian trader in Long Thanh district, said that to meet the demand for ripe durian, when harvesting durian, he selects the tree-ripened fruits separately, meticulously checks and classifies the fruits that are ripe enough to sell on the same day for customers to eat immediately, and the fruits that can be kept for 2-3 more days to be properly ripe and delicious. This type of tree-ripened durian is usually supplied to retailers or customers who order in advance because the supply is limited.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, a durian farmer in Trung Hoa commune (Trang Bom district), said that her family has an orchard so she opened a retail fruit store at home. Of these, ripe durian is one of the products that consumers always look for.

As a good farmer, Mr. Tran Anh Tung (residing in Binh Son commune, Long Thanh district) is a pioneer in the locality in experimentally growing many specialty durian varieties such as: Sukang red flesh, Musang King... According to Mr. Tung, Long Thanh district is famous for many delicious fruits. In response to the demand of consumers who want to visit the garden to visit and buy delicious fruits as gifts, many gardens open their doors to welcome visitors. The gardens sell at higher prices than the traders buy, consumers can buy fresh, quality fruits. With the advantage of the garden adjacent to a major traffic route, Mr. Tung is investing in a garden tourism model and taking care of the garden according to VietGAP process; planting more flowers, grass, and taking care of the landscape to create a good impression, hoping that visitors will return in the fruit ripening season next year.

Binh Nguyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202505/ve-vuon-an-dac-san-sau-rieng-chin-rung-1062135/