Vietnam's durian capital is so busy it takes trucks 2 hours to cross 30 km

Dak Lak, home to Vietnam's largest durian growing area, has entered peak season, and thousands of container trucks converge on collection points every day, backing up National Highway 26 for kilometers. National Highway 26 runs more than 150 km and is the main artery linking Khanh Hoa Province to Dak Lak. Many sections are just 6-9 m wide with two lanes, while truck and container traffic surges during the durian harvest. From midday to early evening in late August, trucks and containers backed up for 2-3 km along the stretch through Ea Knuec, Ea Phe and Krong Pac communes. The 30-35 km stretch of National Highway 26 through Ea Knuec, Krong Pac and Ea Phe communes is packed with trucks, pickups, containers, farm tractors and motorbikes hauling durian. When one vehicle slows to turn into a collection point to load, traffic behind it immediately piles up. Drivers said travel time through the Ea Knuec-Krong Pac-Ea Phe section rises sharply during durian season, at times taking more than two hours to clear. Facing the risk of prolonged gridlock, Dak Lak traffic police have set up lane separation and are directing traffic at hotspots along National Highway 26. Some groups of trucks and containers have been routed onto alternative roads to ease pressure on the section running through the main durian belt. Authorities said the number of vehicles hauling durian on the route has at times risen 300-400% above normal. Farm tractors are the main vehicle locals use to move durian from orchards to collection points. Y Cuong, 34, of Ea Knuec Commune, said his family's Thai durian orchard of nearly 100 trees is expected to yield about 15 metric tons this year. He and five workers are harvesting the fruit and selling it to traders at around VND35,000 ($1.33) per kilogram. Nguyen Van Linh, who owns a durian collection point in Krong Pac Commune, said volumes arriving have jumped sharply as the harvest peaks, with his operation buying dozens of metric tons a day for export to China. Most collection points sit near National Highway 26 for ease of transport, Linh said, so trucks and containers move in and out constantly on peak days. "We don't want vehicles parked on the road because it blocks traffic and makes loading difficult. But the season is short and the volume arrives all at once, so we need a proper staging area," he said. Traders buy up a 40-tree durian orchard in Krong Pac Commune, more than a kilometer off National Highway 26. Ho Tien said he bought the entire orchard half a month ago at VND35,000 per kilogram, harvested about six metric tons and hauled it back to sell to large wholesalers. Traffic pressure has grown with the Dak Lak Durian Festival, which runs from Aug. 15 to Sept. 2 and has drawn more visitors and vehicles onto main routes.