Green-skinned grapefruit has a good price, gardeners have a big Tet holiday

In the days leading up to the 2014 Lunar New Year, the price of green-skinned pomelos has been continuously increasing, making many gardeners in Tien Giang extremely excited. Currently, green-skinned pomelos are being purchased directly from the garden by traders at the price of 35,000 - 37,000 VND/kg, an increase of about 10,000 VND/kg compared to last month and more than 7,000 VND/kg compared to the same time last year.

Mr. Le Van Thanh, a green-skinned grapefruit farmer in Long Khanh commune, Cai Lay district, said that in recent days, traders have been coming to the garden to buy green-skinned grapefruit to supply the Tet fruit market. “This year, the grapefruit garden is more than 3,000m²I have harvested more than 4 tons of fruit, with the selling price ranging from 32,000-35,000 VND/kg. After deducting expenses, I still have a profit of over 100 million VND. Thanks to the grapefruit garden, this spring, my family enjoyed a warm and prosperous Tet," Mr. Thanh shared.

Green-skinned grapefruit is a fruit tree with high economic value but requires gardeners to have good intensive cultivation techniques, especially in conditions where green-skinned grapefruit is severely affected by fruit borers. Due to the impact of pests and diseases, the output of green-skinned grapefruit has decreased, and the limited supply has caused the price of green-skinned grapefruit to always be high in recent years. Only grapefruit growers with good intensive cultivation techniques can have high profits.

According to calculations by pomelo farmers, green-skin pomelos grown in Cai Lay yield an average of about 15 tons/ha. At current prices, any gardener with pomelos to harvest will have a revenue of over 500 million VND; after deducting production costs, farmers still have a profit of over 250 million VND/ha.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lai, a fruit trader at Vinh Kim wholesale market, Chau Thanh district (Tien Giang) said that since the beginning of December, she has sent people to green-skin pomelo gardens in Cai Be and Cai Lay districts to deposit money to prepare pomelos for the Tet market, but many gardeners are afraid of being "cheated" so they refuse to accept the deposit and say that they will calculate the price when they sell.

“The demand for grapefruit during Tet is very high, so every year the price of grapefruit is sky high in the days leading up to Tet. In the coming days, the price of grapefruit may continue to increase sharply to over 40,000 VND/kg,” Ms. Lai said.

According to statistics, Tien Giang currently has over 5,000 hectares of grapefruit, annually supplying the market with over 70,000 tons of fruit. By 2015, the province's specialty grapefruit growing area, including green-skin grapefruit and Co Co hairy grapefruit, is expected to reach 6,880 hectares, mainly concentrated in flooded areas of Cai Be and Cai Lay districts.

According to rural economy