Massive planting of orange trees should be minimised - Deputy Minister

It is necessary to minimise the growing area and massive planting of orange trees in inappropriate regions, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh.

Total orange production in 2021 in Ha Tinh is estimated at over 65,000 tons. Photo: Duc Hung.

Tons of oranges consumed via many distribution channels

On November 23, Ha Tinh Provincial People's Committee held a virtual "Brand And Consumption Promotion Of Ha Tinh Oranges" conference.

According to the Ha Tinh Provincial People's Committee, oranges are one of the 15 key plants of the local agricultural sector.

The harvest season of oranges in the locality lasts from October to February of the following year. There are two main types of citrus fruit planted in the province: Bu Orange that is the provincial unique product and mainly concentrated in Huong Son District; and Chanh Orange that is is derived from the delicious and famous Xa Doai orange variety and concentrated in Huong Khe, Vu Quang, Can Loc districts and some other localities.

Thanks to its adaptability, suitability and favourable specific climatic and soil conditions of Ha Tinh, as well as proper investment and intensive technological applications, Ha Tinh oranges have a distinctive aroma and sweet taste.

In recent years, the province has synchronously implemented mechanisms and policies, focusing on applying processes according to VietGAP and organic standards, to expand the growing area, increase productivity and quality of plants.

At the same time, digital transformation and digital economy development are identified as one of the important steps to add value to agricultural production.

The local authorities have also directed the construction of a traceability system for Ha Tinh orange trees to make information transparent to consumers. Currently, the system has connected to over 1,611 households and 278 orange growing cooperatives/groups in the province.

In addition, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade has been responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to connect consumption of Ha Tinh oranges at large distribution and retail systems such as the Vinmart and Vinmart+ supermarket chains of Masan Group, Co.opmart supermarket, Big C supermarket; while building Ha Tinh orange stalls on the largest e-commerce platforms in Vietnam such as Voso, Postmart, Sendo, Shopee and the province's e-commerce platform.

At the same time, the province has organized many forms of promotion and connection with key businesses to bring Ha Tinh orange products to domestic consumers. Up to now, the output of consumed oranges has reached 13,000 - 14,000 tons, initially penetrating into modern distribution systems such as Vinmart, Co.opmart, and e-commerce platforms.

Minimizing the massive planting of orange trees

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh stressed that Ha Tinh Province has promoted the advantages of soil and climate conditions, along with the diligence, creativity and long-term experience of orange farmers and wide application of technical advances in farming.

“In addition to the construction of a traceability system, maintenance and improvement in both quality and food safety, the province has built concentrated orange growing areas, created fruit-laden orange orchards that produce fruits with attractive colors, rich sweet aroma, establishing a reputation for Ha Tinh oranges,” he added.

According to the leader of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the conference is an opportunity to connect the consumption of citrus products and agricultural specialties of Ha Tinh with consumers across the country and towards export.

To ensure the success of the 2021 crop and sustainable development of orange production in the province in the near future, he suggested that Ha Tinh province in particular and other large orange-growing provinces in general pay attention to 5 big problems.

Firstly, focus on intensive farming, improve productivity and quality, expand the application of VietGAP process, organic agriculture and traceability, ensure food safety. Timely summarize the results of scientific and practical research, valuable experiences of orange farmers for dissemination and replication.

Secondly, minimize the massive increase in the growing region and development of orange trees, particularly in inappropriate areas; continue to review commercial orange production areas in the direction of concentrated development, while associating the production and product diversification with market demand in regions with conditions for intensive investment.

Third, focus on selection, restoration, production of disease-free varieties for new planting and re-cultivation; at the same time, increase the rate of using new varieties, especially good quality orange varieties with few seeds or no seeds. Building a structure of seeds to spread the harvest, including early-ripening, main-season and late-ripening varieties that are convenient for harvesting for fresh consumption and raw materials for the processing industry;

Fourth, promote linkages between production and consumption; encourage and mobilize farmers to voluntarily participate in forms of cooperation between production and consumption enterprises along the value chain; promote local, regional and regional linkages in production, harvest, and product consumption.

Fifth, continue to pay attention to supporting the brand building, registration of geographical indications, planting area codes, proactively focus on developing the domestic market, especially in urban, industrial and tourism areas; step by step promote trade in some potential export markets.

“Especially, in the complicated situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, provinces need to develop appropriate production and consumption plans; strengthen connections with corporations, distribution enterprises, supermarkets and large agricultural wholesale markets, e-commerce platforms, etc. to ensure product consumption, with the highest value and efficiency", Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh emphasized.