Opportunity for Binh Thuan dragon fruit to increase its value. Part 1

That is not only the wish of dragon fruit growers, but also every Binh Thuan citizen yearns for it every time they see the "green dragon" proudly on the shelves of supermarkets in demanding markets at home and abroad. With the policy and enthusiasm of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, the Ecological System Cooperative was established to connect all cooperatives in the whole province and farmers who are growing dragon fruit. The goal is to change the production mindset, create clean, safe dragon fruit and affirm the brand.

Lesson 1: Potential market for clean dragon fruit

In recent days, the Binh Thuan Sustainable Production and Consumption Ecosystem Cooperative has exported the first batches of clean dragon fruit to demanding markets in Europe and Australia. This good news has excited many members of the cooperative and sparked new hope for dragon fruit output after many years of falling into a vicious cycle of good harvest and low price.

The first Ecosystem Cooperative to stabilize prices

In early August 2023, the Binh Thuan Sustainable Production and Consumption Ecosystem Cooperative was established with the desire to support people producing and growing dragon fruit to access the market, aiming at the goals of safe production, environmental protection, and sustainable development in Binh Thuan. From there, it contributes to spreading the good values of a clean and circular agriculture, creating value chains on the basis of cooperation and mutual development among members. This is considered the first Ecosystem Cooperative to stabilize prices in the country, aiming to sustainably connect producers and consumers according to the principles of publicity, democracy, transparency, voluntariness, harmonious benefits, and shared risks.

Binh Thuan dragon fruit (white, red, yellow) on shelves in supermarkets.

“Every resort in Mui Ne, Phan Thiet or any motel or hotel in Binh Thuan also introduces dragon fruit to tourists. Next, retail supermarket systems join hands… Each person contributes a brick, then Binh Thuan dragon fruit in particular and Vietnamese dragon fruit in general will conquer domestic consumers” - Ms. Nguyen Hoang Van - General Director of Ecological System Cooperative shared. To do this, Ms. Van said that dragon fruit producers need to change their traditional way of doing things to an economic mindset, growing and developing dragon fruit in an organic direction. In particular, they must proactively participate in cooperatives and cooperatives according to the value chain; reorganize production, and cooperate to form large-scale, effective specialized dragon fruit growing areas…

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Van said: Currently, the Ecological System Cooperative, in addition to finding export outlets, also targets the domestic market.

The leader of the Ecological System Cooperative added: The cooperative was established with 37 initial members, including dragon fruit growers, input and output units. In addition to the enthusiasm of the members, the participation of the National Assembly Delegation of Binh Thuan province has contributed to sustainable production and consumption in a green and clean direction. Currently, the Ecological System Cooperative, in addition to finding export outlets, also targets the domestic market through large supermarkets and clean food stores. The results are clear, after only 1 month of establishment, Binh Thuan dragon fruit through the Ecological System Cooperative has been entered into the supermarket systems LotteMart Tay Ho, Lotte Cau Giay (Hanoi), Aeon, City Mart (HCMC) ... and will soon enter the Co.opMart supermarket system nationwide with a stable product price every 3 months. This is a potential market that growers and traders are ignoring.

Ecosystem Cooperative's booth at the recent OCOP product exhibition.

Must find new direction

In late October 2023, just 1 day after exporting the first batch of dragon fruit to the official channel at a stable price of 22,000 VND/kg, the Ecological System Cooperative welcomed Indian partners to directly demonstrate the dragon fruit gardens grown according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, and the dragon fruit processing and packaging workshops of the cooperative members. Having the opportunity to go with the Board of Directors of the Cooperative and Indian businessmen to survey the gardens, we saw the serious, effective, and agile working spirit of the leaders of the Ecological System Cooperative, because they are experienced in the market and have the ability to negotiate directly with domestic and foreign partners. This is the difference between the Ecological System Cooperative and traditional cooperatives.

Bring Indian partners to survey dragon fruit gardens of cooperative members.

Ms. Van negotiates directly and answers partners' questions.

After a day of hard work and negotiating related contents, at exactly 10:00 p.m. on October 21, under the witness of the representative of the Indian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Thuan Cooperative Alliance and Ecological System Cooperative signed a contract with 2 companies to export 2 containers of white dragon fruit to the Indian market (about 38 tons). The partner's goal is to cover the "green dragon" fruit in all major supermarkets in India, the most important point is that they will keep the stamps, labels, and name of the cooperative intact when putting Binh Thuan dragon fruit on supermarket shelves. It is expected that after expanding the market, the Indian partner will sign 8 containers with Ecological System Cooperative each month. The Indian partner also hopes that Ecological System Cooperative can go to India to promote products and connect with the market.

Under the witness of the representative of the Indian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Thuan Cooperative Alliance and Ecological System Cooperative signed with 2 companies to export to the Indian market.

Present at the dragon fruit garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - Ham Duc Safe Dragon Fruit Cooperative, a member of the Ecological System Cooperative, Mr. Thanh shared with us: "After 2 tests as well as checking 900 indicators on pesticide residues required by the importing country, the third time, the family's dragon fruit garden of more than 2 hectares has met the standards for exporting 4 tons to Europe and 19 tons to Australia. Mr. Thanh said that he is very excited, because this will be an opportunity for Binh Thuan dragon fruit to increase its value when approaching demanding markets, as well as guiding farmers to produce clean dragon fruit in a sustainable way."

Dragon fruit garden of Ham Duc Safety Cooperative meets export standards to Europe and Australia.

Only on the third test did the results of 900 pesticide residue indicators in Mr. Thanh's dragon fruit garden meet the requirements.

This is not the first time Binh Thuan dragon fruit has been exported to demanding markets, but the output is not large and not sustainable. That is one of the reasons why dragon fruit farmers keep falling into the vicious cycle of “bad harvest – good price”, “good harvest – low price” and repeating the story of “rescue”.

“The cooperative’s goal is to bring Binh Thuan dragon fruit to the world, but to do that we are gradually changing the mindset and way of doing things of farmers and it takes time. In the immediate future, our goal is for 10 million Vietnamese customers to be able to eat clean Binh Thuan dragon fruit. I believe that the Ecological System Cooperative will do it.”
Ms. Nguyen Hoang Van - General Director of Ecosystem Cooperative

K.HANG - M. VAN

Source