Making a living as durian tappers

As the durian harvest begins, durian tappers set out on journeys to specialized durian cultivation areas. Relying on their ears, eyes, and years of experience, they make a living from the trade. Yet behind every purchasing trip lie unpredictable risks.

Following durian tappers

At daybreak, To Xuan Anh, from Ea Phe Commune, Dak Lak Province, sets off on an old motorbike, carrying two large baskets, along the red-dirt roads leading to durian orchards in Ia Ko Commune, Gia Lai Province. As the durian harvest season gets underway in Gia Lai, tappers like Xuan Anh enter their busiest time of the year.

After exchanging a few words with the orchard owner, Xuan Anh swiftly climbs a towering durian tree. Perched precariously on a branch, he pulls out a Thai-made knife and gently taps each fruit with its handle. In the stillness of the early morning, the rhythmic thud... thud... has become a familiar sound understood only by those in the profession.

"This is a profession where experience is the best teacher. At first, every tap sounds the same. But after years on the job, we learn to know the difference. When the fruit produces a hollow thud, we know it has reached maturity for harvest," Xuan Anh shared.

According to Xuan Anh, once a durian reaches physiological maturity, the flesh inside begins to shrink slightly, creating a gap between the pulp and the husk. This produces the characteristic hollow sound when the fruit is tapped, a key indicator for determining whether it is ready to be harvested or should be left on the tree.

In addition to relying on the sound produced by tapping, experienced durian tappers also assess the fruit visually. For the Ri6 variety, mature fruit gradually changes from green to yellow, while the tips of the thorns develop mottled brown speckles. By contrast, the Monthong variety darkens as it reaches maturity. These visual changes allow tappers to judge about 60% of a fruit's maturity before confirming their assessment by tapping and making the final decision.

Xuan Anh recalled, "I've been doing this job for nearly 10 years. When I first started, I often cut fruit that wasn't mature enough because I couldn't distinguish the different sounds. But after years of practice, it became second nature. Now, I can tell whether a fruit has reached harvest maturity just by the sound it makes when tapped."

According to orchard owners, identifying the right harvest time directly determines fruit quality. If harvested too early, durians are likely to have underdeveloped, rubbery flesh and fetch lower prices. However, if left on the tree for too long, the fruit may fall naturally, resulting in a decline in quality. As a result, during the peak harvest season, durian tappers are in constant demand, working from dawn until nightfall.

At another durian orchard nearby, Hoang To Hien, from Residential Group 1, Chu Se Commune, was busy collecting baskets of freshly harvested durians for delivery to fruit traders. Having worked as a durian tapper for more than 10 years, she has traveled through the durian-growing regions of the Mekong Delta, Dong Nai, and the Central Highlands to make a living.

These days, as Gia Lai durian enters the harvest season, Hien purchases around one ton of fruit each day. "Tapping a durian is much like tapping a jackfruit. If it produces a hollow thud... thud..., the fruit has reached harvest maturity. But if it sounds more like tock... tock..., it's not ready to be harvested," she shared.

Beyond the tapping sound, Hien also examines the color of the rind and the fruit stem. A darkening stem and a rind beginning to turn yellow indicate that the durian has reached maturity and is ready to be picked. For experienced tappers like her, every tap reflects years of accumulated experiences and serves as the benchmark for determining the quality of each fruit before it reaches consumers

High incomes but significant risks

Durian tapping can be an attractive occupation during the harvest season. Depending on orchard size and output, tappers can earn several million dong a day. But earning that income requires years of accumulated experience, intense concentration, and a reputation built over many harvest seasons.

To Xuan Anh taps and purchases an average of 700-800 kg of fruit a day. He earns a profit of around VND 200,000 for every 100 kilograms of durian he buys. With durian prices falling sharply this season and many growers facing financial difficulties, he has voluntarily reduced his profit in an effort to offer farmers the best possible purchase price.

To many outsiders, durian tapping appears to be an easy way to earn several million dong a day. But only those in the profession understand the countless worries behind every truckload of durians. Tappers can only cut open a few randomly selected fruits to inspect their quality but cannot split open every durian in an orchard. As a result, if they happen to buy fruit from an orchard with underdeveloped, rubbery flesh or poor overall quality, losses of several million, or even tens of millions of dong, are not uncommon.

According to Xuan Anh, a durian tapper's income depends heavily on the orchard owner’s care. When growers invest methodically in orchard care and produce high-quality fruit, both farmers and buyers benefit. Conversely, a single problematic shipment can wipe out the earnings from many days of hard work.

Recalling a recent buying trip to Dong Nai, Xuan Anh said: "A few days ago, I bought a batch of durians with underdeveloped, rubbery flesh. I didn't detect the problem during the inspection and ended up losing more than VND 30 million." For those who make a living as durian tappers, losses like these are a constant source of anxiety, as unexpected risks can arise at any time.

According to Hoang To Hien, the durian tapping profession is always accompanied by unpredictable risks. It takes only a few fruits with underdeveloped, rubbery flesh or substandard quality in an orchard for all of a tapper's hard work to turn into a large loss. That is why every visit to an orchard requires not only experience but also a measure of luck.

"From the outside, this job may look like an easy way to make money, but the risks are enormous. There have been times when I only discovered the durians had underdeveloped, rubbery flesh after delivering them to traders. By then, all I could do was accept the loss," Hien shared.

$1 = VND 26,460 - Source: Vietcombank.