Authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta must propagate Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to improve the quality of fruits sold both in the domestic and export markets, an specialist says. Dr Nguyen Minh Chau, rector of the Southern Fruit Research Institute, says the problem in the country is that agriculture is scattered and done on a very small scale, leading to high production costs and low quality and yield.
To develop fruit production, each locality in the delta should identify its speciality, earmark an area of at least 3,000ha for cultivating that fruit, and use intensive farming techniques, he says. Fruit producers need to cooperate by joining or setting up cooperatives to achieve large-scale, safe, and high-quality fruit production, he says. This will also enable better control of seedlings so that trees suffer less from disease and improvement in productivity and quality, he says.
Besides, adoption of advanced technologies and GAP standards in production, processing, and preservation is easier at large farms, he says. Joining hands will also help revamp the distribution system in such a manner that farmers are not forced to make distress sales when there is a bumper crop, he says.
Several hurdles
Fruit export has faced several hurdles in recent years because Vietnamese fruits do not meet food safety regulations adopted in many countries, Chau says. This is despite the fact some fruit varieties have received GAP certification— like Lo Ren Vinh Kim star apple, Hoa Loc sweet mango, and dragon fruit. Overuse of pesticides by a number of Vietnamese farmers means their fruits have high residue levels.
Preservation technologies are not good enough to keep fruits in good conditions. The Vietnam Fruit Association (VFA) says the rate of spoilage is relatively high at 20-30%.
Because of the small scale of fruit cultivation, exporters are unable to execute large orders or consistently maintain quality. The delta has 280,000 hectare under fruits with an average annual yield of 2.5-2.7 million tonnes, or 70% of the country's output. This includes nationally popular fruits like Hoa Loc mangoes, longans, rambutans, Cai Mon durians, thick-skinned oranges, and Nam Roi pomelo.
The chair of the Vietnam Fruit Association, Vo Mai, says fruits from the delta were mostly consumed within the country. Only a small quantity of fresh fruit is exported to China. Even in the domestic market, the share of local fruits has fallen after the arrival of cheap imported fruits from Thailand and China.
Chau says Vietnamese Ri-6 durian costs 25,000 dong per kilogramme, while Thai Mongthong durian costs just 10-15,000 dong. Similarly, several other Vietnamese fruits are priced two or four times higher than Thai imports. Mai is hopeful, however, that fruits grown here have the potential to become popular at home and abroad if they meet GAP standards.
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