Sweet fruit from the "fire pan"
For a long time, everyone thought that the "fire pan" area of Krong Pa was only suitable for growing cassava, sugarcane, and tobacco, but it was difficult to grow green-skinned grapefruit.
Yet Ms. Luu Thi Thu Huong (Mlah hamlet, Phu Can commune) was successful when her 4-hectare grapefruit garden began to yield stable harvests with a yield of nearly 100 tons/year.
Talking about the opportunity to grow this type of plant, Ms. Huong said: “Once when I visited grapefruit gardens in the South, I saw that they were doing it very effectively. Thinking about the fact that for a long time in my garden, there were several grapefruit trees that bore fruit all year round, with a very delicious taste, which could be suitable for specialized cultivation.
So why don’t we develop green-skinned pomelos into a commodity crop with great economic value? After researching the market and learning about techniques, in 2018, my wife and I decided to switch from short-term crops to planting 1,100 green-skinned pomelos on an area of 4 hectares.
After the third year, the grapefruit garden began to yield fruit. This year, the yield reached nearly 100 tons. With an average selling price of 15-20 thousand VND/kg, my family estimated a profit of about 1.3 billion VND after deducting expenses.
The green-skinned grapefruit product of Ms. Luu Thi Thu Huong's family (Mlah hamlet, Phu Can commune, Krong Pa district, Gia Lai province) won first prize at the 2nd "Typical agricultural products" contest of Gia Lai province - 2023. This year, the output reached nearly 100 tons. With an average selling price of 15-20 thousand VND/kg, my family estimates a profit of about 1.3 billion VND after deducting expenses". Photo: TN
Ms. Huong’s garden is located on a high plot of land, next to Ia Mlah stream, with convenient irrigation water sources. However, proper cultivation techniques are the highest requirement for grapefruit trees.
“Growing grapefruit is very difficult, from pruning, fertilizing, treating diseases to weeding to nourish the roots. Every year, my husband and I gain more experience. However, farming is not simple and smooth because in the first 3 years, we encountered many problems when diseases appeared in the garden, and then when harvesting, the fruit became lumpy, had thick skin, and was mottled.
Then, I persisted with the biological treatment method, absolutely not using chemical drugs to cure the disease quickly. Thanks to that, my family has overcome the most difficult care period. Even so, every year, I invite some agricultural engineers from the South to check the grapefruit garden.
But recently, when they went to the field and saw the fruit-laden garden, they gave up the idea of giving me technical advice and selling me fertilizers and pesticides. They praised my family's smart farming methods, which saved a lot of money compared to other gardens," Ms. Huong happily shared.
If cared for according to the technical process that Ms. Huong and her husband are applying, the grapefruit tree can yield harvests for up to 20 years.
Every year, her garden harvests about 3 main harvests. Each time, traders come to the garden to harvest. The price of the fruit that coincides with the grapefruit harvest in the North will be low. On the contrary, during Tet and the hot season, the price of grapefruit will be higher.
Thanks to proper care according to VietGAP process, the green-skinned grapefruit garden of Ms. Luu Thi Thu Huong (Phu Can commune, Krong Pa district, Gia Lai province) has developed well and produced high productivity. Photo: TN
In recent years, many people in Gia Lai have started to invest in growing green-skinned grapefruit, including farmers in the "fire pan" of Krong Pa. Mr. Nguyen Thai Duy (Prong hamlet, Ia Mlah commune) said: "Before, I grew cassava, then switched to growing custard apple and sachi but it was not effective.
Later, I found that green-skinned grapefruit trees are suitable for high temperatures, hot all year round, and the quality is the same whether harvested in the rainy or sunny season.
Green-skinned grapefruit can be harvested all year round and has good output, so I decided to plant 2 hectares. Although it will take another 2 years to harvest, I am confident that grapefruit trees will bring high economic efficiency.
Southern warehouses "hunt" for goods for export
Mr. Vo Ngoc Chau - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Krong Pa district - said: "Currently, the whole district only has 24 hectares of fruit trees, including 9 hectares of grapefruit.
We have oriented and supported the entire grapefruit area to produce according to VietGAP process. In 2022, Ms. Huong's green-skin grapefruit garden was certified VietGAP.
In July 2023, at the 2nd Gia Lai Province "Typical Agricultural Products" Contest, Ms. Huong's family's green-skinned grapefruit was one of the 2 products that won first prize.
According to some fruit purchasing warehouse owners, green-skinned grapefruit in Krong Pa is quite similar to grapefruit in Ben Tre, from appearance to quality. Ms. Tran Thi Thu Hong - Owner of a grapefruit purchasing warehouse in Tan Phu town (Tan Phu district, Dong Nai province) said: "Depending on the soil, climate and production techniques, the quality of each place's products is different. I highly appreciate Krong Pa grapefruit because the flesh is sweet and the skin is smooth and beautiful.
In particular, Ms. Huong's grapefruit garden is cultivated entirely with biological fertilizers and pesticides, so it is safe for users' health. This is one of the criteria that large warehouses choose to buy to ensure export standards.
Seeing the economic benefits, many farmers in Krong Pa district, Gia Lai province have converted ineffective crop areas to grow green-skinned grapefruit. Photo: TN
Currently, green-skinned grapefruit has many prospects for expanding its export market because it is one of the popular fruits in the EU, Middle East, China, etc. markets that Vietnam has previously exported.
Notably, at the end of 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinated with the People's Committee of Ben Tre province to organize a ceremony to announce the export of the first batch of grapefruit from Vietnam to the United States after many years of negotiations. This is a great opportunity for green-skin grapefruit.
According to Mr. Chau, if the clean production process is followed correctly and quality standards are met, fruit farms in the South will increase their purchases. After purchasing, they will classify and select fruits that meet export standards.
Through research, fruit store owners said that Krong Pa is not a region that produces many types of fruit trees, but the green-skinned grapefruit here has proven to be of good quality. Therefore, every harvest season, store owners in Ben Tre and Dong Nai have offered to place orders. Therefore, if there is enough output, Krong Pa grapefruit will have the opportunity to expand its domestic and foreign markets.
Based on that reality, Krong Pa district (Gia Lai province) aims to develop the fruit tree area to about 100 hectares by 2025. The district will encourage people to convert some ineffective crop areas to green-skin pomelo.
However, the difficulty now is how to change people's thinking from small-scale, fragmented production to concentrated cultivation, applying science and technology to production, creating large raw material areas.
Because an area must have an area of 10 hectares to build a growing area code to identify and trace the origin of the product, aiming for official export.
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