Pomelo growers in Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province are busy preparing to harvest and supply high-quality products to the market on the occasion of the 2024 Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.
A pomelo farm at Tan Huong hamlet, Thanh Hoi commune, Tan
Lac district.
In Tan Lac district, there are 1,108 ha of pomelo, including 885 ha of
red-flesh pomelo, 67 ha of green-skinned pomelo, and 134 ha of Dien pomelo. The
district has 11 cooperatives and five cooperative groups operating in the field
of pomelo farming and trading.
Six local cooperatives have received planting area codes for
export to the EU market, with a total area of 153 ha while two facilities were
granted codes to export to the New Zealand market, with an area of 46.8 ha. The district sees an annual pomelo output of over 17,000 tonnes.
Each ha of pomelo generates about 190 million VND (7,760 USD) on average.
Currently, some pomelo growing areas in communes like Thanh Hoi,
Dong Lai, and Tu Ne can generate about 380 - 415 million VND per ha per year. This year, people in Thanh Hoi commune in particular and people
of Tan Lac district in general are happy to see 13.5 tonnes or 13,400 pomelos
exported to the UK market, a sharp increase from 5,400 fruits in 2022 and 8,000
fruits in 2023.
Bui Van Thao, Vice Chairman of the Thanh Hoi commune People's
Committee said that the pomelo growing area has been expanded in the locality.
Now, local farmers are paying much attention to nursing trees
and preserving fruits so that they can supply to market high-quality products
during the Tet celebration.
Duong Tat Tinh, one of the first and best pomelo growers in Thanh Hoi commune
said that he grows more than 200 trees in his 4,600-sq.m farm." This year, the weather is favourable so the fruit yield is
higher than previous year,” he said, adding that now, the price is lower. Wholesalers from neighbouring districts pay about 8,000 - 10,000
VND for a pomelo at the gardens.
Meanwhile, red-flesh pomelo farming has helped members of Binh Minh Services
and Rural Development Cooperative escape poverty and get a stable source of
income.
Nguyen Thi Oanh, director of the cooperative predicted that the
pomelo price during the Lunar New Year this year will not increase much.
However, pomelo growers are still happy as almost all their products have been
ordered already.
Besides Thanh Hoi commune, many localities in the Tan Lac
district are eyeing to expand pomelo growing areas. However, the district
authorities want to keep the growing areas unchanged and apply technical
advances to replace degraded pomelo areas with low-quality.
In Lac Thuy district, communes have been succeeded in promoting their One Commune-One Product (OCOP) products while others are still struggling to position their typical farming products in market. Some communes in the district still fail to have their products met OCOP programme’s requirements, while others have seen their certifications expired.
The inspectorate agency of Hoa Binh province has issued Official Dispatch No. 1090/TTr-PCTN to provincial departments, agencies, localities, business associations, enterprises, and investors regarding measures to improve informal component indexes of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI).
Hoa Binh is taking concrete steps to improve its investment environment, with a strong focus on supporting businesses, settling obstacles for strategic investors, and creating opportunities for robust development in the coming years.
Under the blazing early summer sun, the construction site of Nhuan Trach Industrial Park (IP) in Luong Son district is abuzz with activities from dawn to dusk, a testament to the determination of the investor to meet their construction targets on schedule.
