Dak Lak advances toward a green, circular, transparent and sustainable economy

This strategic orientation not only maximises local potential and advantages but also aligns with the broader trend of elevating Vietnamese agricultural products in global markets.

Agriculture — a bright spot of the regional economy

Implementing the Resolution of the Dak Lak Provincial Party Congress (2020–2025), the province faced numerous challenges: rapidly evolving and unpredictable global dynamics, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, policy shifts in major economies, rising input costs, falling prices of some key agricultural products, and extreme weather conditions affecting local development.

Despite these difficulties, thanks to the close leadership of the central government, the support of ministries and agencies, and the solidarity and determination of the provincial Party organisation and people of all ethnic groups, Dak Lak overcame challenges and achieved comprehensive socio-economic progress, especially in the economic sector.

The economies of the two provinces Dak Lak and Phu Yen (prior to the merger) continued to maintain robust growth, with expanding economic scale. During the 2021–2025 period, average GRDP growth (at constant prices) reached about 6.24% per year—6.31% for Dak Lak and 6.1% for Phu Yen—higher than the national average.

According to Director of the Dak Lak Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Minh Huan, the agriculture–forestry–fishery sector has grown rapidly toward high quality and sustainability, playing a “pillar” role in maintaining growth and expanding the province’s economic scale. Average agricultural growth during 2021–2025 reached 5.24% per year, 1.5 times the national average. Crop production remains dominant, accounting for 70% of total agricultural value.

Vice Chairman of the Dak Lak Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thien Van highlighted that Dak Lak is Viet Nam’s “coffee capital,” with about 213,000 hectares and an annual output of around 545,000 tonnes, contributing 30–35% of the country’s coffee production. Over many years, the province has pioneered high-quality coffee development, sustainable replanting, and value-chain enhancement.

Since 2008, Dak Lak has implemented numerous major projects. Notably, its coffee areas recently became the world’s first to receive the EU’s 4C–EUDR deforestation-free certification, and 35% of the province’s coffee acreage has been digitised. Buon Ma Thuot’s geographical indication has been protected in 32 countries and territories, establishing it as a global symbol of the quality and prestige of Vietnamese coffee.

In addition, Dak Lak continues to capitalise on its natural conditions, climate, soil and expanding markets to promote high-value industrial crops and fruit trees, contributing both to rapid, sustainable agricultural development and to improving living standards. Among these, durian stands out: the province now has over 40,000 hectares, producing more than 420,000 tonnes in the 2024–2025 season, making it one of Viet Nam’s largest producers.

With high productivity and quality, averaging 20–25 tonnes per hectare and export prices ranging from 60–70 million VND per tonne, durian has turned thousands of farming households into millionaires and even billionaires.

Agriculture’s substantial contribution has helped raise GRDP at current prices to approximately 913,014 billion VND over the past five years, an average increase of 11.8% per year. In 2025, GRDP is expected to reach 230.662 trillion, 1.75 times higher than in 2020. People’s living standards have improved, with GRDP per capita rising sharply compared with the previous period.

By late 2025, GRDP per capita in former Dak Lak is expected to reach 81.76 million VND per year, while former Phu Yen is projected at 78.60 million VND. The provincial poverty rate is estimated to fall to around 2.08%, with poverty among ethnic minority communities decreasing to about 10.06%.

Towards a green, circular an transparent economy

Following the provincial merger, Dak Lak now enjoys a vast development space stretching from East to West, encompassing both forests and seas—two foundational elements that form a diverse and sustainable ecosystem. Leveraging these advantages, the province is restructuring its economy, with agriculture identified as a key sector and the nucleus of its green-growth strategy.

The Resolution of the Dak Lak Provincial Party Congress for the 2025–2030 tenure designates the development of ecological, high-tech agriculture linked with digital transformation as a central task. This is not only a strategic direction to effectively harness local strengths, but also an inevitable trend to help Vietnamese agricultural products expand to global markets.

Under this orientation, Dak Lak will restructure its agricultural sector toward green development with low emissions, strongly applying science, technology, and digital transformation throughout all stages of production. The province will reorganise concentrated production zones specialising in key commodities such as coffee, pepper, rubber, fruit trees, and aquaculture.

The province also encourages the development of closed value-chain production models connecting farmers, cooperatives, and enterprises to increase productivity and product quality, reduce environmental impacts, and enhance economic efficiency. Research, technology transfer, mechanisation, and automation in harvesting and processing will be intensified.

Investments are being called for to establish deep-processing centres for coffee, agricultural products, and seafood, with the goal of reducing raw exports, increasing added value, and lowering emissions, contributing to a circular economy and sustainable resource use.

In parallel, the province aims to strengthen agricultural product processing, logistics systems, storage, and international-standard transportation infrastructure, thereby enabling Dak Lak’s agricultural products to build a strong global presence.

To address longstanding limitations such as fragmented production, low productivity, and inconsistent technological adoption, Dak Lak is prioritising technological innovation and deep processing to enhance agricultural value. The Phu Yen High-Tech Agricultural Zone has so far attracted nine investment projects totaling over 524 billion VND, focusing on crop cultivation, agricultural-food processing, and high-tech seed production.

In the western area of the province, alongside Hoa Phu Industrial Park and other industrial clusters, KDI Holdings began construction of Phu Xuan Industrial Park in March 2025 on 313 hectares in Cuor Dang Commune.

According to Dinh Xuan Dieu, Head of the Dak Lak Industrial Zones Management Board, once operational, this industrial park will not only become an attractive destination for domestic and foreign investors but also play a crucial role in shifting from raw agricultural exports to high-value, technology-driven processed products, thereby promoting socio-economic development.

Alongside provincial efforts, many enterprises have pioneered green, organic, and transparent production models for sustainable development. A notable example is Simexco Dak Lak.

According to Deputy General Director of Simexco Dak Lak Nguyen Tien Dung, the company now has a network of 50,000 farmers producing raw materials compliant with EUDR (EU’s deforestation-free regulation). It has also adopted comprehensive digital transformation across supply chain management, traceability, and e-commerce, helping farmers enhance competitiveness and access demanding markets.

Chairman of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association Trinh Duc Minh, stated that under the province’s development orientation for the coffee sector (2025–2030), the association will proactively contribute to policies on regenerative agriculture, emission reduction, and EUDR compliance. It will also promote the production and trade of Buon Ma Thuot GI coffee, sustainable coffee, specialty coffee, and deeply processed coffee.

The association will apply Industry 4.0 technologies, strengthen traceability and quality monitoring from farm to cup, and encourage members to adopt circular-economy models—contributing to the realisation of Dak Lak’s sustainable coffee development strategy to 2030 and Viet Nam’s specialty coffee development plan for the 2021–2030 period.

Entering a new term with new advantages, opportunities, and development resources—alongside significant challenges, particularly climate change and increasing natural disasters that threaten sustainable development and agriculture—the province is proactively shaping its future.

With strategic vision, synchronised policies, and the collective efforts of enterprises and local communities, Dak Lak is steadily transforming its agricultural sector toward a green, organic, circular, transparent, and sustainable future.