Doan Thi Thuy, who owns a farm with over 100 durian trees in Krong Pak District, said fruits have started falling from trees in recent days.

Some big traders had asked to buy them for VND82,000 (US$3.12) per kilogram and even paid deposits, she said. But they then canceled the deals and she could only sell the fruits, which had become overripe, to small traders for VND20,000-25,000 per kilogram, she said.

Last week the Dak Lak Durian Association said nearly 2,000 containers of fruits have remained at warehouses, packing facilities and border checkpoints since Oct. 11 as laboratories paused chemical residue testing, preventing businesses from obtaining the certifications needed for export.

The durian harvest is reaching peak season in Dak Lak, a major producing province in the Central Highlands, it said.

Doan Kiem, who has three hectares under the fruit, said he sold durians meant for exporters at just a quarter of the contracted prices to anyone willing to buy.

He spends VND600 million annually to tend to his 500 trees and incurred losses of hundreds of millions due to the current debacle, he estimated.

He has stopped harvesting in the last few days and is leaving the fruits on the ground.

“I earned several billion dong in profit last year from my orchard, but I am facing losses this year despite a bumper crop just because of the testing pause. If authorities could quickly resume testing, farmers would suffer a lot less.”

The durian association said hundreds of farmers in the province are suffering. Exporters are also in a bind as they can do nothing but wait for the test results.

The director of one such company: “Many businesses fear their fruits will spoil and have either tried to sell in the domestic market or processed them.”

Another company said its shipment has been sitting for 15 days, causing the durians to crack and spoil and resulting in losses of billions of dong.

Durians with cracked and moldy shells after sitting 10 days awaiting chemical testing in Lang Son Province. Photo provided by an exporter

One testing center in northern Vietnam said in a notice to businesses that it expected to resume operations on Monday.

The gap was meant to ensure the stability and accuracy of its equipment after prolonged heavy use during the peak season, it added.

Vietnam has 24 labs approved by Chinese customs that can test a total of 3,200 samples a day. Many labs have been operating at full tilt, leading to equipment breakdowns.

A few also stopped because their license needed renewal, a process that takes some time. At a recent meeting addressing the testing pause, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ordered relevant agencies to review all labs and assign staff to assist them if needed.

It also instructed the Plant Protection Department to work with Chinese authorities to get more testing facilities approved.

Some of the labs have since issued test results for some of the stalled shipments but none have started accepting new samples.

The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said testing facilities should have planned their maintenance ahead and notified businesses earlier. “Labs should take turns with maintenance (…) to avoid creating a bottleneck.”

It also advised exporters to closely monitor market developments and adjust their shipping schedules accordingly to avoid congestion during peak seasons.

Vietnam exported $1.8 billion worth of durians in the first eight months of 2025, according to customs data.

Fresh fruit shipments were worth $1.52 billion, a 25% year-on-year decline, but at $265 million frozen durian exports were up 127%.