Saturday - 17:26, 03/02/2024
DONG THAP In the days before Tet, red tangerine farmers in Lai Vung district open their doors to serve tourists to visit, take souvenir photos, and buy red tangerine specialties.
Lai Vung pink grapefruit (Dong Thap) is a famous specialty throughout the country. With the advantage of being endowed by nature, favorable climate, combined with suitable soil, only Lai Vung district grows pink grapefruit with delicious quality, sweetness and beautiful ripe fruit color to serve the Tet market. According to the agricultural sector of Lai Vung district (Dong Thap), each year only one crop of pink grapefruit is grown during Tet, currently the area of citrus in the whole district is bearing fruit on over 200 hectares.
In recent years, in addition to selling to traders, farmers here have also run a pink tangerine garden tourism model, attracting many tourists from near and far to come and visit, take pictures and enjoy tangerines right in the garden, contributing to increasing income for gardeners.
On the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024, in communes such as Long Hau, Tan Phuoc, Tan Thanh... everywhere you can see ripe tangerines in the garden, every tree is full of fruit, round and juicy.
Lai Vung has long been given the title of “kingdom of red tangerines” by the people of the West. That is not an exaggeration at all because in the Mekong Delta provinces, there is currently no place with an area of red tangerines reaching nearly 1,000 hectares (at the peak, the red tangerine trees have not been killed by disease) and every year tens of thousands of tons of fruit are released to the market to serve the Tet market.
The reason why Lai Vung's pink grapefruit (also known as Tieu Son grapefruit) is famous is partly because it is located next to the Hau River, thanks to the suitable climate and soil that helps the tree produce abundant fruit with delicious quality that few places can match.
Stepping into Lai Vung’s pink tangerine garden, visitors will feel like they are entering a fairy garden. The more you look, the more fascinated you become because there are few fruits with such fresh, brilliant and aesthetic colors as pink tangerines. Especially at the end of the year, when tangerines are in full bloom, visitors can visit the gardens here to experience the feeling of being a farmer harvesting tangerines.
Mr. Doan Anh Kiet, owner of a red tangerine garden in Long Khanh hamlet, Long Hau commune (Lai Vung district), grows 5 hectares of red tangerines and has opened the garden to welcome tourists for many years. He said: Usually in December, the red tangerine garden turns yellow and ripens, at that time the garden opens to welcome visitors.
Especially on weekends, the number of visitors to Mr. Kiet's garden is up to 400 - 500 people.
According to Mr. Kiet, domestic and foreign tourists who come to visit the pink tangerine garden are very impressed and surprised because the tangerines here bear so much fruit, some branches of which hang down close to the ground. On average, every day Mr. Kiet's garden attracts nearly 100 visitors to visit and enjoy the pink tangerines on the spot.
Currently, Lai Vung district has 10 red tangerine gardens open to tourists, earning 1.5 - 2 times higher profits than traditional red tangerine production. In addition, it also contributes to promoting the Lai Vung red tangerine specialty brand to domestic and foreign tourists.
According to many gardeners, from the beginning of December every year until near the Lunar New Year, the pink tangerines in Lai Vung district will begin to ripen, gradually changing from green to eye-catching orange-yellow. The attractive color and characteristic flavor of the famous pink tangerines of Lai Vung have captivated many tourists.
Many tourists take advantage of the days before Tet to visit the pink tangerine garden to take souvenir photos. To better serve the needs of visitors, the garden owner also serves rustic dishes with a strong countryside flavor such as snakehead fish, chicken, tangerine juice, tangerine wine, etc.
The "2 in 1" model of Lai Vung grapefruit farmers brings in profits of 500 - 600 million VND/ha/crop.
The entrance fee for visitors to the pink tangerine garden is 50,000 VND/adult, 30,000 VND/child. The retail price of tangerines for visitors is 80,000 VND/kg, wholesale price is 55,000 VND/kg.
Mr. Luu Van Tin, Director of Lai Vung Red Pomelo Cooperative, said: In addition to growing red pomelos to sell fruit and doing tourism, in recent years, Lai Vung farmers have also produced red pomelos in pots to serve people who enjoy Tet bonsai.
Le Hoang Vu
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