The prices of durian have continued to rise since the first batch of Dak Lak durian was exported to China last September.

According to the farmers in Krong Pac District, durians have enjoyed their highest-ever prices of between VND 85,000-100,000 per kilo.

Amid rising prices, many farmers here have complained about rampant theft targeting their gardens.

Durian farmer Bui Thi Ngoc said that her 1.20-hectare garden had lost many fruit to thieves.

"I've lost over 100 kilos of durian so far this year," Ngoc said. "I’ve lost over 30 fruits in a single evening several times."

The two-hectare durian garden of Le Quang Au has also lost dozens of fruits to thieves every day.

Local farmers have sought help from the police and taken various measures themselves.

Farmer Tran Quang Ta, 54, has just built a two-layer fence with metal mesh on the outside and metal sheet inside to better protect the trees during harvest season.

"I've decided to invest VND 200 million (USD 8,299) to build a fence to protect my durian garden which is expected to be sold for VND 3.50 billion this crop," Ta said.

Besides a firmly-built fence, the farmer has also installed a security camera on a six-metre-high pole that can watch the whole garden.

"Thanks to the fence and the cameras, we haven't experienced any thefts," he said, adding that they were widespread during harvest time this year.

Another farmer, Tran Tien said that he has also installed eight security cameras in his durian garden.

"Those cameras can take photos of the garden and alert us when detecting movement," Tien said.

The farmer even takes a hammock to sleep in the garden to guard the trees.