Delta fruit farmers see bumper harvest, high prices

Ho Chi Minh City – Farmers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta have entered the peak fruit harvesting season, with bumper harvests and high selling prices.

Harvesting durian in Tiền Giang Province’s Cai Lậy District. – VNA/VNS Photo Minh Trí

In Trà Vinh Province, the peak harvest began early this month for specialty fruits like mangosteens, durians, rambutans and longans.

Kha Văn Hồng, who has a 2,000 sq.m rambutan orchard in Trà Vinh’s Cầu Kè District, said the weather was favourable for fruit this year.

The fruit yield was more than 10 per cent higher than normal, he said

The prices of the fruits sold at orchards in the province last week were VNĐ4,000 – 5,000 (17 – 21 US cent) a kilogramme higher than the same period last year, according to farmers.

Early this month, traders from HCM City offered to buy in advance mangosteens in Cầu Kè at a price of VNĐ40,000 – 45,000 (US$1.7 – 1.9) a kilogramme.

However, most farmers did not sell the fruit in advance because the district’s mangosteens are in high demand.

The price of mangosteens sold at orchards in Cầu Kè was VNĐ80,000 ($3.4) a kiologramme last week.

Đỗ Văn Tài, who grows mangosteen in Cầu Kè’s An Phú Tân Commune, said this was the first time the price of mangosteen had reached a record high.

In Cần Thơ City, traders bought Chu mango and Hòa Lộc mango at a price of VNĐ20,000 (85 US cent) a kilogramme, and durian at VNĐ 40,000 – 45,000 ($1.7 – 1.9) a kilogramme last week.

The price of fruits was down VNĐ5,000 – 15,000 (21 – 64 US cent) a kilogramme against the beginning of the harvest season but were higher than the same period last year.

In recent years, most farmers in Cần Thơ and the Delta’s 12 provinces have planted high yields and quality fruit varieties, which are in high demand in the market.

The profit for fruit growing is three to four times higher than rice, according to farmers.

The Delta’s provinces and Cần Thơ have set up concentrated fruit growing areas to produce fruit with high and consistent quality for domestic consumption as well as exports.

Tiền Giang Province, which is the country’s largest fruit producer, has 9,200ha of concentrated durian growing areas, 7,000ha of concentrated dragon fruit growing areas and more than 4,000ha of concentrated mango growing areas, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Delta has about 307,000ha of fruits, producing about 4 million tonnes of fruits a year, and accounting for 40 per cent of the country’s total fruit area.

The Delta’s durian, dragon fruit, milk apple and green skin and pink flesh grapefruit are exported to many markets.

Besides growing fruit, many farmers in the Delta are using their orchards to offer tourism services.

In Cần Thơ’s Phong Điền’s District, for instance, many fruit farmers offer visitor services at their orchards.