Selling delicious fruits to Europe and North America, a cooperative in Hau Giang helps farmers make a lot of money

OCOP Bio Fruit Cooperative (Bio Fruit Coop), located at Hung Vuong Street, Thi Tran Hamlet, Nga Sau Town, Chau Thanh District, Hau Giang Province - is a cooperative promoted, mobilized, guided and established by the Hau Giang Farmers' Association.

Bringing OCOP products, delicious fruits for export to European - North American markets

Ms. Vo Thi My Dung, Director of OCOP Biological Fruit Cooperative, said: OCOP Biological Fruit Cooperative was established on March 30, 2020, with 195 members, with a charter capital of 10 billion VND; its production and business lines are agricultural product exports and activities: purchasing agricultural products for export, consulting on cultivation techniques, consulting on export standards, transporting agricultural products and providing agricultural materials to members.

The display booth of 4-star OCOP standard Nam Roi grapefruit and seedless lemons of the OCOP Biological Fruit Cooperative, at an event in Hau Giang province, was honored to be visited by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Photo: Cooperative provided

The period when the cooperative was first established (2020) was when the Covid-19 epidemic began to appear and broke out into a pandemic, so it encountered many difficulties. However, with the support of the Chau Thanh District Farmers' Association, the local government, the determination of the members, and the active cooperation of the farmers, the cooperative overcame certain difficulties and gradually stabilized its operations.

As a result, in the period of 2021 - 2023, the Cooperative consumed more than 9,000 tons of various agricultural products, including 4 fruit products of Hau Giang that met 3-star and 4-star OCOP standards, namely Nam Roi grapefruit, seedless lemon, sweet orange, and xoan orange; revenue of over 204 billion VND. In 2024, it is estimated to consume 4,500 - 5,000 tons of various agricultural products... And currently, the production and business situation of the Cooperative is very encouraging, the first 9 months of the year reached 80% of the plan for 2024.

To achieve that result, Ms. My Dung shared: Regarding the process of linking production according to the value chain of high-quality goods, OCOP Biological Fruit Cooperative has successfully linked and converted 250 hectares of ineffective sugarcane to grow seedless lemons and Nam Roi grapefruit according to export standards to the European market.

Seedless lemons meet 4-star OCOP standards of OCOP Biological Fruit Cooperative - a typical national cooperative in 2024. Photo: HC

During the conversion process, the cooperative and local authorities supported and guided farmers from seed selection to planting and care, etc. until the fruit was produced, and they signed a contract to purchase it for the farmers.

In order to meet the increasingly demanding requirements of domestic and foreign customers, the OCOP Biological Fruit Cooperative has developed a planting and packaging process that meets a number of European standards such as: Global GAP, Smeta, BRC... on seedless lemons, Nam Roi grapefruit, green-skinned grapefruit, oranges, jackfruit, and other fruits... in Hau Giang province. Currently, the Cooperative has 2 products: seedless lemons and Nam Roi grapefruit that meet 4-star OCOP standards and 2 products: sweet oranges and pomelos that meet 3-star standards (pending renewal).

With the high determination of each member, the products of the Cooperative meet the high requirements of customers, so currently the products of the OCOP Biological Fruit Cooperative and farmers of Hau Giang province have been increasingly favored and trusted by domestic and foreign customers.

Up to now, in the domestic market, OCOP Organic Fruit Cooperative's fruits have been sold in large supermarket chains such as Vinmart, Bach Hoa Xanh and the Western Co.opmart system... with monthly revenue in the domestic market of nearly 2 billion VND/month.

Nam Roi grapefruit meets 4-star OCOP standard of OCOP Biological Fruit Cooperative - National typical cooperative in 2024. Photo: HC

Regarding the export market, the Cooperative has exported two main fruit products of Hau Giang province that meet the 4-star OCOP standard, namely seedless lemon and Nam Roi grapefruit under the Chau Thanh - Hau Giang brand, to European markets such as: England, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Russia, ... and Hong Kong.

"The cooperative has also taken advantage of the tax incentives brought by the EVFTA in a timely manner. We are currently the first cooperative to benefit from tariffs when the EVFTA comes into effect, with the cooperative's revenue of about 70 billion VND/year.

Notably, Bio Fruit Coop recently exported containers of green-skinned grapefruit to the North American market for the first time. This is a potential market with a very high average income per capita, and consumers love the taste of fruits grown in Hau Giang.

The great advantage is that this is also a country participating in the CPTPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) trade agreement. Hopefully, in the coming time, the fruit of Hau Giang farmers in particular, and farmers in the West in general, will be exported to this market in increasingly large quantities," Ms. My Dung shared.

Farmers' economic development fulcrum

Sharing about the production linkage with farmers, Ms. My Dung said: When the cooperative was first established, the biggest difficulty in linking with farmers was to persuade them to switch from traditional farming to clean farming. However, after a short period of mobilizing, farmers realized the positive and long-term effects of clean farming, so they cooperated.

Seedless lemon farmers in Hau Giang, in association with the OCOP organic fruit cooperative, are excited because of stable output and prices 15-25% higher than the market. Photo: HC

In the process of connecting with farmer members, the cooperative always guides farmers to cultivate in a clean direction, such as: applying biological products to prevent and control pests, encouraging farmers to apply water-saving irrigation systems, spraying pesticides by drones... to save production costs and labor.

In addition, the Cooperative arranges each engineer specializing in Cultivation to manage and guide about 40 farmers, helping farmers cultivate and prevent pests in a safe and sustainable manner, and producing products that meet the requirements of the markets of importing countries. After that, the Cooperative directly purchases products from farmers, bypassing intermediaries, helping farmers increase profits and feel secure in production.

Currently, the Cooperative has linked to purchase more than 300 hectares of fruit trees for export, applying Global GAP standards to farmers, and contracting to purchase at prices 15-25% higher than the market.

OCOP biological fruit cooperative arranges engineers specializing in Cultivation to manage and guide farmers in cultivating according to clean processes. Photo: HC

Mr. Cao Hoai Hoc (Cau Trang Hamlet, Phung Hiep District, Hau Giang Province), a member of the Cooperative, said: When joining the Cooperative, he joined the cooperative to grow seedless lemons, with an area of ​​8000m2. Thanks to growing according to high-tech processes, being guided by engineers and closely monitored, the lemon yield is always high, the product quality is consistent. In particular, when participating in the production linkage, the Cooperative also guarantees his output, purchasing 15-25% higher than the market price.

"Before, when growing seedless lemons, I often worried about the refrain "good harvest, low price", or "planting tightly, planting tightly". But since joining the production association with the cooperative, I am assured of the output, every harvest is sure to make a profit" - Mr. Cao Hoai Hoc, shared.

Mr. Do Trung Nam, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Chau Thanh District, Hau Giang Province said: "Since its establishment, in addition to linking with farmers to build raw material production areas using advanced technology, the OCOP biological fruit cooperative has also focused on solving market problems and consuming fruits for nearly 100 members and farmers through signing contracts with domestic and foreign partners. The total annual output of agricultural products in the area that the cooperative guarantees is about 4,500 - 5,000 tons.

Seedless lemon garden cultivated according to clean process, meeting export standards of farmers in Chau Thanh district, Hau Giang province. Photo: HC

In addition, the cooperative has truly become a solid foundation for Hau Giang farmers to develop the economy, maximize the potential and advantages available in the locality, help them increase the value of agricultural products, and continue to increase consumption output due to stable output. The cooperative has removed the bottleneck that Hau Giang farmers in general and Chau Thanh farmers in particular are expecting, creating a chain of links for farmers to participate and benefit.

In addition, the OCOP biological fruit cooperative has changed people's awareness of the nature of the new cooperative model in accordance with the spirit of Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW, dated June 16, 2022 of the Party Central Committee (Term XIII) on continuing to innovate, develop and improve the efficiency of the collective economy in the new period".

Source: https://danviet.vn/ban-trai-cay-ngon-sang-chau-au-bac-my-mot-htx-o-hau-giang-giup-nong-dan-kiem-bon-tien-20241001160522536.htm