Demand for durian seeds surges

Several provinces in Viet Nam have seen a spike in prices for durian seeds in the last few days, especially for certain kinds of seeds purchased by traders for domestic durian growers or for export to China. — Photo infonet

Local authorities are still investigating why the sudden demand for durian seeds has occurred. Some traders are buying the seeds at prices five to six times higher than a few years ago, rising to around VND90,000 (US$4) per kilo.

A trader in Lam Dong Province’s Bao Loc City said that big, round seeds were especially valuable.

Nguyen Van Luc, head of Lam Dong’s Agro-products Quality Management Branch, said that plantations were buying a large amount of seeds to graft them onto other plants and to grow newer durian species such as Ri 6 and Monthong.

Nonetheless, local authorities are trying to raise awareness of the potential consequences of overstocking durian seeds.

The demand has risen so much that vendors selling durian at prices as low as VND15,000 per kilo along highways are encouraging visitors to eat the fruit on site so they can later sell the seeds.

Dinh Van Hai, owner of a durian plantation in Da Huoai District, said demand had grown because more households were realising the profitability, and were buying seeds for grafting purposes to grow a new and popular species of red durian.

Meanwhile, a representative from a durian plantation in the same district told news.zing.vn that an increase in demand for durian seeds was normal as the fruit was easy to grow and is profitable.

However, he said that few plantations would pay the high price of VND80,000 to VND100,000 for durian seeds, because the resulting profit would be too low.

Dang Hung Viet, head of Lam Dong’s Da Huoai District Division of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that households should be cautious and not store a large amount of durian seeds, because if traders suddenly stopped buying them, they could incur huge losses. — VNS