DAK LAK, VIETNAM – Vietnam’s Central Highlands produces around one-sixth of the world’s coffee, but farmers are switching their traditional crop for durian to cash in on surging Chinese demand for the pungent “king of fruits.”
“You can live okay with coffee, but it’s durian that makes you rich,” said Pham Xuan Lan, as he gave a tour of his farm.
Blessed with a tropical climate and rich basalt soil, the lush Central Highlands produces vast quantities of robusta beans, and Vietnam trails only Brazil in coffee output.
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