Farmers and businesses excited about the opportunity to bring passion fruit to the US

Farmers of Xuan An Cooperative, Gia Lai, next to the garden growing Dai Nong 1 Duc Dien passion fruit - Photo: TRAN HANG

Previously, during a working trip to the US in late August 2024 by a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the two countries agreed to end technical discussions and move on to legal procedures, allowing the import of Vietnamese passion fruit into the US market.

Opportunities from exporting fresh passion fruit

In the context of fluctuating passion fruit prices and unstable acreage, entering the US market is expected to stimulate passion fruit production.

Gia Lai province has the largest passion fruit growing area in the country with nearly 5,500 hectares. However, in the 2024 crop year, the area has decreased sharply compared to the previous year due to the sharp drop in passion fruit prices.

Ms. Vo Thi Sam, a farmer in Ia Grai district (Gia Lai), said that this year her family only planted 300 lemon trees, half the number from last year.

Farmers in the area also tend to reduce their acreage and switch to coffee cultivation. After more than 5 years of growing passion fruit, Ms. Sam said the market price of this fruit is too erratic.

The price of passion fruit sometimes reaches 40,000 VND/kg, but sometimes drops to 3,000 VND/kg. In the last crop, the price of passion fruit was as low as 7,000 - 8,000 VND/kg, causing farmers to abandon their gardens en masse.

According to Ms. Sam, to encourage growers to return to passion fruit, the output price must remain stable at 13,000 - 15,000 VND/kg. Processing and exporting enterprises must have commitments and contracts to guarantee output for the people.

Sharing about the prospect of bringing passion fruit to the US, Ms. Vo Tran Bich Hanh - Director of SeSan Gia Lai Agricultural One Member Co., Ltd. - commented that farmers will benefit greatly if they can export fresh passion fruit.

As a business that supplies seeds and processes passion fruit products for export, Ms. Hanh said that currently the main market for passion fruit is China, but they mainly import processed passion fruit juice, rarely importing fresh fruit.

Last crop, farmers reduced their acreage, leading to an increase in the price of fresh fruit that meets European export standards, reaching 50,000 - 65,000 VND/kg.

According to Ms. Hanh, the current supply is not enough for processing and exporting enterprises because the planting area has decreased sharply compared to 2023, and factories are worried about a lack of raw materials.

"When the US opens its market, the predicted increase in passion fruit prices will encourage growers to return. However, to meet export standards to the US or Europe, farmers must grow with the right techniques and choose quality seedlings with the ability to resist pests and diseases from reputable brands," the company shared.

What can you do to 'win big' with passion fruit?

In Vietnam, Quicornac is a leading enterprise in the field of processing and exporting passion fruit with a factory with a capacity of 400 tons/day and night in Gia Lai.

Mr. Luu Quoc Thanh - Director of Quicornac Vietnam Co., Ltd. - said that purple lemons are increasingly popular with consumers around the world because of their special sourness and sweetness. This product is of great interest to large markets such as Europe and China.

Passion fruit is grown in large areas in many districts of Gia Lai province - Photo: TAN LUC

Quicornac currently exports passion fruit to 50 markets from Europe, Japan, China and South America.

Observing the market, Mr. Thanh sees that the demand for passion fruit in the period of 2024 - 2025 is increasing, if farmers focus on investing from now, they can win big. Currently, processing enterprises have recorded a shortage of supply, partly because in 2023, the price of passion fruit dropped, people switched to growing coffee and durian.

"There were times when farmers planted massively and planted seeds at the same time, so the processing capacity could not meet the demand when the season was at its peak, leading to a loss of price. But in the long run, exporting fresh passion fruit will open up great opportunities for farmers. We recommend that farmers should plant in separate seasons, harvest evenly throughout the year to sell at high prices," said Mr. Thanh.

Growing passion fruit according to market demand, with pre-order contract

According to the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Gia Lai province, the estimated area of ​​passion fruit in this province is nearly 5,500 hectares, with an output of about 172,000 tons. The agricultural sector aims to expand the passion fruit growing area to 30,000 hectares by 2030, becoming the province's main fruit crop.

For sustainable development, this agency recommends that people and businesses develop growing areas according to market demand, through pre-order contracts. Build and complete growing area profiles, ensuring technical barriers according to the requirements of the importing country market.

At the same time, encourage businesses to invest in building factories for preliminary processing, handling, packaging, and preservation in growing areas to ensure quality to meet market demands; invest in deep processing to create products with high added value.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nong-dan-doanh-nghiep-hao-hung-truoc-co-hoi-dua-chanh-leo-vao-my-20240919161623631.htm