Sadness in the export longan gardens of Chi Linh

Due to the severe impact of the weather, most of the longan growing areas in Chi Linh suffered crop losses.

The garden is "empty" of fruit.

Hoang Hoa Tham Commune is a major export longan growing area of ​​Chi Linh City. The commune has more than 60 hectares of longan, of which 13 hectares are grown according to GlobalGAP standards, the rest are VietGAP. In previous years, during the longan season, visitors to Thanh Mai Pagoda would enjoy delicious fresh longan fruit right in the garden. But this season, the longan gardens are all green with leaves.

Taking us to visit the export longan growing area, Mr. Phung Gia Vuong, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Hoang Hoa Tham Commune, shared: "Every year, at the beginning of the season, we continuously lead delegations of businesses and traders to visit longan gardens that meet export standards. Garden owners are also happier because there are always people coming and going to visit the garden. This year, due to a bad harvest, we don't see any businesses or traders."

For more than ten years of growing longan, Mr. Nguyen Dinh An in Da Bac village has never been as sad as this season. His family's longan hill grows all kinds of longan, from Mien Thiet longan, Ha Tay crooked longan to super sweet longan... Since 2020, every year his family's longan garden has been purchased by businesses for export. In 2023, the longan crop was good but could not be exported because of high transportation costs, so the price was cheap. However, the longan output was large, so after deducting expenses, his family still made a profit of more than a hundred million. This year is really sad. His family's entire 2-hectare longan hill is estimated to yield only 200 kg of fruit instead of 24 tons like previous seasons. "We take care of it all year round, looking forward to the longan crop, but this amount of fruit is only enough for our children and grandchildren to enjoy, not enough to sell," Mr. An said sadly.

This crop, Mr. Xuyen's 2 hectares of longan for export only yielded about 2 tons of fruit, down 80% compared to the same period last year.

A few hills away is the longan garden of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Xuyen, also in Da Bac village. Almost every year, his family's longan garden is purchased by businesses for export, and in some years the export output reaches about 80%. The export price of longan is always 5,000 VND/kg higher than the market price. In every crop, he earns hundreds of millions of VND. Despite his experience, this year Mr. Xuyen's longan garden shares the same crop failure as other longan gardens. At this time in previous crops, he started hiring people to prune the branches, but this crop he does not dare. Because behind those lush green branches and leaves could be the rare bunches of longan of the season. The longan season is sad, but he still hopes to sell at a high price to cover the cost of care for the whole year.

Hai Duong has over 2,000 hectares of longan with an output of over 12,000 tons, but only the longan area of ​​Chi Linh city meets export standards. Chi Linh currently has about 740 hectares of longan, concentrated in the communes and wards of Hoang Hoa Tham, Bac An, Hoang Tien, Le Loi... with an average output estimated at over 4,000 tons/year. This year, due to the effects of the weather, both lychee and longan growing areas of Hai Duong have suffered crop failures. Particularly, the longan growing area in Chi Linh has decreased by 80% compared to the same period last year, with only about 800 tons left.

Must master the technique

Mastering the technique, Mr. Nguyen Van Vien's family's longan garden is still full of fruit.

In contrast to the general situation, Mr. Nguyen Van Vien's longan garden in Tan Tien residential area, Hoang Tien ward is still full of fruit. With 1.5 hectares of longan, this crop he still harvested 7 tons of fruit, equivalent to previous years. At the beginning of the early longan season, he sold to traders for 50,000 VND/kg, currently the price of longan is still at 40,000 VND/kg, 10,000 - 15,000 VND/kg higher than the same period last year. Up to now, he has collected more than 40% of the output, earning a profit of over 100 million VND.

According to Mr. Vien, weather is a factor that greatly affects crop yield. However, if you master the techniques of planting and caring, you will be able to overcome the consequences caused by the weather. Previously, his family's entire longan garden was mainly of the Mien Thiet and Ha Tay varieties... When these plants were old, he boldly replaced all the old varieties with grafted longan varieties such as Duong Phen and Huong Chi. These longan varieties are harvested earlier than the main-season longan, so the selling price is also higher. Currently, 70% of the longan area has been harvested, the remaining area will be harvested from the next crop.

“Early planting of longan has high value but is also much riskier, so fertilization techniques are especially important. We must consider each stage of the tree’s development to fertilize in time to ensure productivity. For the past 6 years, my longan price has never been below 30,000 VND/kg. In addition to serving domestic consumption, longan is also purchased by many businesses for export at high prices,” Mr. Vien shared.

Previously, Mr. Xuyen always wondered why Hung Yen longan or lychee in Bac Giang had better appearance than those in Hai Duong. This season, he has the answer. “Longan has few fruits, so I boldly chose some trees to test new fertilizer varieties. Although the trees have very few fruits, the fruits are large and the skin color is bright. This year, the crop was bad, so the price of main-season longan will certainly be high. After the harvest, I will hire people to prune and fertilize to prepare for the next season. Hopefully, the next season will be a happy one for longan growers.”

Chi Linh is one of the major fruit growing areas of Hai Duong. The city currently has about 190 hectares of longan grown according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. Every year, over 1,000 tons of longan meet export standards. Since 2020, in addition to domestic consumption, Chi Linh longan has been exported to the UK, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. This affirms that Chi Linh longan products have created a brand and trust among domestic and foreign consumers.

However, to maintain productivity and quality in export longan growing areas, farmers must master techniques, replace barren gardens, and choose plant varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases... Only then can the negative effects of weather on crop yields be limited.

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Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/noi-buon-o-nhung-vuon-nhan-xuat-khau-cua-chi-linh-387734.html