People taste Krông Pắk durian. The first Krông Pắk durian festival will be held in early September. VNA/VNS Photo

ĐẮK LẮK — The first Krông Pắk durian festival will be held in early September in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk, aiming to promote the trade of the local fruit.

The festival is scheduled to take place in Krông Pắk District's Phước An Town from September 1-4 is one of the activities to promote and introduce the specialty of Đắk Lắk to customers and visitors, according to Ngô Thị Minh Trinh, vice Chairwoman of the district People's Committee.

Krông Pắc durian has been recognised as a collective trademark of the district of the same name and received a permit for export to China, the biggest market for the fruit.

Đinh Xuân Diệu, chairman of the Krông Pắk People’s Committee and head of the festival organising board, said it is an opportunity for trademark promotion and orienting durian cultivation in a safe and sustainable manner meeting strict requirements from importers.

With the theme “Raising Krông Pắk Durian”, the event features an opening and a closing ceremony, a vote on charming and environmentally friendly durian farms, a durian tasting event, a trade fair, culture-tourism promotion activities, and a conference on sustainable agricultural investment and development.

A series of activities, such as a street festival, folk singing festival, a performance of ethnic musical instruments, and a vote for the most “beautiful durian orchard – environmentally friendly” will be held at the event.

The festival is regarded as an opportunity to connect and display fruit products, typical products of the district and some neighbouring localities in Đắk Lắk, thereby promoting the potential strengths, and investment opportunities in the production, processing and consumption of durians.

This is the first time that Krông Pắk to organise a durian festival in order to raise the image of durian specialties to the public, and at the same time give a new direction to develop durian cultivation, especially when it is officially exported to China.

Đắk Lắk currently has more than 12,000ha of durian, of which Krông Pắk is the major durian producer of ​​the province.

Krông Pắk houses nearly 4,000ha of durian, of which more than 2,000ha are yielding fruit with an annual yield of some 45,000 - 50,000 tonnes.

Over the years, farmers in the district have gradually produced sustainable high-quality durian. Among them, nearly 600ha have been granted VietGAP certificate; 730ha of durian has been granted a planting area code by the Plant Protection Department.

Belonging to the favoured Dona variant, the local fruit is harvested one month later and has higher economic efficiency than other fruit in other areas. — VNS