New opportunities for Tan Lac red-flesh grapefruit

12/14/2017 - 11:23:44 AM

(HBO) – In late November, Muong Bi commune in Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province, yielded a bumper grapefruit crop with stable prices. The happiness doubled when the Tan Lac red-flesh grapefruit was recognised as a collective mark. This has opened up huge opportunities to promote local products and made significant contributions to shifting crop structure in combination with new-style rural area building.

Tan Lac red-flesh grapefruit receives collective mark, affirming its own brand

Red-flesh grapefruit is a traditional tree of Tan Lac district. It was brought by Mr. Nam Hon to grow in Dong Tien hamlet from the 1960-1970s. The fruit tree is suitable with the local soil and climate so it has a delicious taste.

Recognising the potential and strength of this variety, Tan Lac district has issued a resolution on developing a commercial grapefruit area in 2013-2020 with specific measures such as supporting farmers in promoting intensive farming and technology application. About 4-5 years ago, the district had only 100 hectares of grapefruit, but now the area increases to over 900 hectares, one third of which have been harvested, mainly in communes along the National Highway 12B such as Dong Lai, Thanh Hoi, Tu Ne and Man Duc.

The red-flesh grapefruit is considered the tree with the highest economic efficiency so far, bringing in steady revenue of 4-5 million VND per tree per year. It is possible to grow 200 trees per hectare. Each tree could produce 150-200 fruits with the current prices of 20,000-30,000 VND per fruit. Income from grapefruit could reach 500-700 million VND per hectare, even 1 billion VND per hectare in some households. Some households could rake in nearly one billion VND per hectare. This year, many families grow only 40 trees but have over 10,000 fruits, grossing hundreds of millions of VND. These days, customers from Hanoi, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An have come to buy grapefruits at the gardens.

Authorities and people in Tan Lac have been aware of building and preserving the red-flesh grapefruit brand. Many cooperative groups have been set up to implement safety production procedures following the Good Agriculture Practice (VietGap). Particularly, Dong Lai commune has dozens of hectares of VietGap grapefruit

The district strives to have nearly 1,200 hectares of red-flesh grapefruit by 2020. It is taking measures to improve management of the fruit’s quality and guiding people to grow grapefruit to ensure food safety and hygiene. At the same time, the district is creating a value chain from cultivation to sales of products and promoting the brand of the Tan Lac red-flesh grapefruit.

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