Hundreds of tons of dragon fruit about to be harvested, how to consume?

Selling price is only 5,000 VND/kg

According to statistics from the Department of Crop Production, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the whole country has more than 62,986 hectares of dragon fruit, with an output of more than 1.318 million tons in 2021, of which the Mekong Delta region is 575,600 tons (equivalent to 36%).

A large amount of dragon fruit needs to be consumed during Tet.

Currently, dragon fruit is entering the harvest season, but it is facing many difficulties because China tightens import management to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic. In particular, the country recently announced to suspend the import of dragon fruit by road through the northern border gates in our country.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An province, it is expected that from now to January 26, the province will have about 10,000 hectares of dragon fruit that need to be harvested, with an output of around 20,000 tons. Through the review, currently the cold storage systems in the province and the associated warehouse systems can only store about 5,000 tons of cold, which is only about a quarter of the total output of dragon fruit that is about to be harvested. The pressure to consume products is huge.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Tinh, Chairman of Dragon Fruit Association of Long An province, said: Dragon fruit is classified into 3 types by the association, including: type 1 with the selling price of only 15,000 VND/kg, type 2 at 10,000 VND/kg, and type 2. 3 is 5,000 VND/kg. From now until the 2022 Lunar New Year, Long An needs to harvest and consume about 26,000 tons of off-season dragon fruit, which can be smoked to bear fruit, plus the price of fertilizer and many supplies this year has increased, so production costs in in many places up to 15,000 VND/kg.

Relevant ministries, branches and units need to consider solutions to boost exports by sea. Strengthen promotion, develop exports to other potential markets and boost domestic consumption.

Ms. Dinh Thi Phuong Khanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An province, suggested: "The Government and central ministries and branches continue to negotiate to clear customs and connect dragon fruit exports again. For the trucks carrying dragon fruits that have not been able to export at the northern border gates, in order to create favorable conditions for the vehicles to turn around, it is hoped that the functional agencies and localities will support the yards to unload and facilitate the trade. sold domestically, helping to reduce losses to the lowest level for businesses.

The government needs to consider whether to support costs and electricity for businesses that store cold goods. Besides enhancing processing and putting goods into cold storage, in order to support farmers to consume products, the province needs the support and connection of ministries, branches and localities to promote product consumption in Vietnam. inland, especially in places where dragon fruit is not grown".

In addition to dragon fruit, many other agricultural products are also decreasing sharply due to output bottlenecks

Join hands for domestic consumption

According to Mr. Nguyen Thai Dung, General Director of BRG Retail Co., Ltd., the demand for goods in the domestic market is increasing as it approaches the Lunar New Year, so the company wants to strengthen cooperation with farmers and other retailers. businesses to sell goods. The company has also urgently developed a plan to implement a non-profit sales program for Vietnamese agricultural products that are having difficulty in exporting, especially fruit and seafood products.

Expected to put goods into the chain of nearly 100 BRG MART supermarkets in 7 provinces and cities. With the available technology infrastructure, the Company also sells these agricultural products on the online sales application system. In addition, the Company also prepares cold storages to store a considerable amount of seafood and fruits.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Cultivation, said: “Our country's average dragon fruit output is about 1.3 million tons/year. Usually, in the first quarter of each year, our country harvests about 300,000 tons, in the second quarter about 150,000 tons, in the third quarter about 410,000 tons and in the fourth quarter about 500,000 tons. The first and fourth quarters focus on over 80% of dragon fruit production for the whole year, so it is necessary to consume a large amount of products.

In recent years, dragon fruit is mainly exported to China, with an area and output accounting for 90%. Only in January 2022, it is expected that the output of dragon fruit to be consumed in the southern provinces and cities is about 120,000 tons.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam, the promotion of processing, preservation and consumption of agricultural products in the domestic market is very necessary in the context that China restricts the import of agricultural products, especially dragon fruit. , jackfruit and watermelon. Many units, businesses and retail groups also said they are ready to purchase for processing and supply to potential export markets, as well as promote domestic consumption.

Therefore, specialized agencies under the Ministry and local functional branches need to strengthen information work, support connection and create favorable conditions for businesses, cooperatives, producers and suppliers. , distribution and sales are connected. Proactively transform production and business thinking in a timely manner…

In addition to dragon fruit, many agricultural products in the Mekong Delta are also falling dramatically in price. Recorded in Can Tho, Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Tien Giang... the price of Ido longan sold by farmers to traders and fruit collectors is only 10,000-13,000 VND/kg, while Previously, the price was 14,000-17,000 VND/kg.

The price of common rambutan (Java rambutan) is currently sold by many farmers at 11,000-12,000 VND/kg, while in the past it was up to 16,000-17,000 VND/kg...

This is the lowest price in the past many months, due to increased supply and slow consumption, especially when exporting many kinds of fruit to the Chinese market has faced many difficulties recently, while this is the time when fruits harvested in many localities to sell Tet…

Tran Luu

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