Soc Trang raises the bar for specialty fruits

STO - The Project on Development of Specialty Fruit Trees in Soc Trang Province, period 2018 - 2021 and orientation to 2025 has been implemented in the province, with the goal of reorganizing production and forming concentrated areas of specialized specialty fruit trees. Focus on converting, renovating, upgrading the cultivation of fruit trees with high economic efficiency and opening new fruit tree growing areas; organizing training and opening new models of applying technical advances, upgrading and opening new fruit orchards; building fruit tree value chains; consolidating and expanding cooperatives and calling for investment in building fruit processing factories. From the project's objectives to the present time, the area of ​​fruit trees in many localities in the province has been planned for concentrated planting, many types of fruit are exported to markets in many countries around the world, contributing to increasing the value of specialty fruit products of the province.

Cooperatives and farmers benefit

With an area of ^{​​7,000m2} of green-skinned grapefruit, Mr. Nguyen Huu Chinh, Phu Huu commune, Long Phu district ( Soc Trang ) has been selected by a number of units to support the implementation of projects and programs, including the Specialty Fruit Tree Development Project. Accordingly, he is supported with safe grapefruit cultivation techniques by using completely Que Lam organic fertilizers and biological drugs to replace inorganic fertilizers.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Chinh, Phu Huu commune, Long Phu district (Soc Trang) next to his family's green-skinned grapefruit garden. Photo: THUY LIEU

Mr. Chinh shared: "I grow grapefruit trees in the traditional way, which means using inorganic fertilizers and pesticides completely in the care process. Although the grapefruit trees are regularly supplemented with fertilizers and pesticides, the fruit yield does not increase, the trees even show signs of slow growth and are less green, the soil under the tree is getting harder and harder, the amount of fertilizer absorbed into the soil to supply the tree roots deep in the ground is limited. With the support of the Provincial Specialty Fruit Tree Development Project with organic fertilizer from Que Lam Group to fertilize the grapefruit trees, along with the application of organic grapefruit cultivation processes, the grapefruit trees are always green, high yield, and good quality fruit, so Que Lam Group has contracted to purchase grapefruit output stably, ensuring post-harvest profits."

Mr. Tran Van Phuong - Director of Xom Dong 2 Agricultural Cooperative, Thoi An Hoi Commune, Ke Sach District (Soc Trang) excitedly said: "I am very pleased with the Provincial Fruit Tree Development Project that has been implemented, because not only do gardeners benefit directly from support in terms of crops, fertilizers, and cultivation techniques, but cooperatives and fruit growing cooperatives in the province also benefit a lot, from support in calling on companies and businesses to link up to consume fruit products as well as support in granting growing area codes so that fruits can be easily consumed in the domestic market and exported."

It is known that the cooperative managed by Mr. Tran Van Phuong specializes in growing pink avocado and purple avocado with an area of ​​38 hectares, of which more than 21 hectares have been supported by the project to grant 2 growing area codes. In addition, the Provincial Specialty Fruit Project has also supported the cooperative to cooperate with the company to sign a contract to consume the entire post-harvest output of avocado, with a fruit output of more than 210 tons/crop/year. Most of the cooperative's pink avocado apples are purchased by the company and sold in high-end stores and supermarkets in the country, of which more than 30 tons of pink avocado apples are exported every year. The company's purchase price for the avocado fruit is quite high, from 55,000 - 60,000 VND/kg. Thanks to the Project's support, the cooperative was granted a growing area code, and Mr. Phuong's family's garden was supported by the project to register the original pink avocado milk tree, so the production of seedlings to supply the market was favorable, and the pink avocado milk fruit after harvest was of good quality, because the correct cultivation processes guided by the project were applied.

Project results

When the Project on Development of Specialty Fruit Trees in Soc Trang Province first started (2018), the area of ​​fruit trees in the province was about 28,000 hectares, but up to now it has increased to more than 30,000 hectares. Previously, the cultivation of specialty fruit trees was still fragmented and small-scale; fruits after harvest were mostly sold to outside traders, without any connection with companies or businesses to bring the province's specialty fruit products to high-end domestic markets or export to foreign countries. In 2018, when the project started, the initial success was supporting Trinh Phu Agricultural Cooperative to sign a contract with Vina T&T Company to consume purple star apples and also in this year, Soc Trang province had its first purple star apple product successfully exported to the US market. Following those successes, the Provincial Specialty Fruit Development Project has supported a series of cooperatives growing grapefruit, longan, star apple, etc., linking companies and businesses to export fruit products to foreign markets, bringing good income to farmers in fruit growing areas in the province.

Provincial leaders are very interested in implementing the Soc Trang province specialty fruit tree development project, so they often visit the locality to observe the production of specialty fruits in home gardens. Photo: THUY LIEU

In 2024 and the first months of 2025 alone, the Provincial Specialty Fruit Development Project has established 25 codes for growing areas of grapefruit, star apple, longan, custard apple, and durian in the project area, reaching 66.7% of the plan; renovating 61 hectares of specialty fruit trees to form a concentrated commodity production area; organizing 22 classes to build production and business plans for cooperatives and farmers in the project area. In addition, a conference was held to promote the linkage of fruit tree consumption in Soc Trang province, attended by more than 100 delegates. Through the conference, the potential for developing specialty fruit trees in the province as well as the challenges and solutions in fruit tree production in the coming time was assessed. Implement 7 renovation models, 7 new planting models, 7 models applying technical advances and 10 models of inter-cropping fruit trees, to reduce production costs and increase the consumption capacity of the province's fruit tree products...

Comrade Quach Thi Thanh Binh - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Soc Trang province said that the Soc Trang Specialty Fruit Tree Development Project has built a series of standardized agricultural production models on VietGAP, GlobalGAP; supported plant varieties and fruit tree care techniques, contributing to increasing household productivity; stabilized output for fruit products. Along with that, the project creates jobs and stable income for people in the region, contributing to poverty reduction, limiting the need to look for jobs in other places; creating abundant and diverse fruit trees on the spot; creating clean, quality products, gradually forming a brand, increasing the reputation of the local agricultural sector. Improving farming techniques and skills for farmers through training courses on cultivation, processing, and preservation. Forming a market, creating stable output, helping farmers feel secure in production, avoiding the situation of "good harvest, low price", contributing to the successful implementation of the restructuring goal in agricultural production of the province and the national goal of building new rural areas...

THUY LIEU

Source: https://baosoctrang.org.vn/tin-moi/202506/soc-trang-nang-tam-trai-cay-dac-san-2c65cd4/