Everywhere Thai jackfruit is grown, the farming industry is rushing to rectify the situation.

No longer following the trend

Currently, the price of Thai jackfruit has dropped to only 2,500 - 16,000 VND/kg (depending on the type), but Tien Giang farmers are still "steadfast" in growing Thai jackfruit.

For a long time, many people have known Tan Phuoc acid sulfate soil as the pineapple orchard of Tien Giang. However, now in this pineapple orchard there are many newly planted Thai jackfruit orchards.

Mr. Tu Nhat (Nguyen Hong Nhat) - My Phuoc commune, in the blazing sun, he is still busy looking after the 3-month-old, lush green Thai jackfruit trees. This 4-hectare Thai jackfruit garden used to be rows of pineapples stretching far and wide. It is not because the pineapples are difficult to sell or give low income that Mr. Tu Nhat destroys the pineapples to plant jackfruit.

A working group from the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) surveyed the situation of growing Thai jackfruit in Tan Phuoc district (Tien Giang). Photo: T.D

“I invested 800 million VND in this 4-hectare jackfruit garden. The pineapple garden used to bring good income, but Tan Phuoc soil is becoming less and less acidic, so the pineapple plants are growing less well,” Mr. Tu Nhat confided.

However, the main reason Mr. Tu Nhat abandoned growing jackfruit is because of low investment, better price than pineapple, fast fruiting (harvesting after 1.5 years), quick income and less effort compared to pineapple.

Mr. Tu Nhat also said that growing jackfruit is not a trend when he sees good prices and farmers rushing to grow it, but a real investment. He shared that he has calculated the cost so he is not afraid of jackfruit flooding the market as many people predict. His plan is to raise more wild boars and fish. If traders do not buy jackfruit, he will feed it to fish and pigs to save on food costs.

Currently in Tien Giang, the business with Thai jackfruit is no longer limited to farmers. A fertilizer tycoon in My Tho City has just announced that he has bought 30 hectares of land in Dong Nai to make a Thai jackfruit farm with 30,000 trees.

"Jackfruit is grown to supply a fruit export company with a guaranteed price of 20,000 VND/kg, so there is no talk of flooding the market," this businessman confidently said.

This businessman calculates that just by harvesting the first jackfruit crop, he will earn 14 billion VND.

Under control?

Recently, a working group of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) surveyed the situation of Thai jackfruit cultivation in Tien Giang. According to the Department of Crop Production, Thai jackfruit has a short basic construction period, after planting 12-15 months the tree begins to bear fruit. If well cared for, the average yield is 20-25 tons/ha/year.

Due to the high purchase price and production efficiency, since 2017, some farmers in the southern provinces have been switching to growing Thai jackfruit mainly on orchards, ineffective industrial trees, old jackfruit gardens and some low-yielding rice fields.

Thai jackfruit grown in My Phuoc, Tan Phuoc. Photo: T.D

In 2018, the area of ​​Thai jackfruit nationwide was 26,174 hectares, with an output of 307,534 tons. Of which, the Mekong Delta region had the largest area with 10,105 hectares.

According to Mr. Le Thanh Tung - Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production, the current development of Thai jackfruit acreage nationwide is still under control and will not cause a market glut in the near future.

“The development of jackfruit trees is not entirely due to farmers planting them spontaneously, following the trend. All of this development is calculated,” Mr. Tung commented.

However, Mr. Tung also said that farmers in the Mekong Delta need to pay attention to the disadvantages when growing jackfruit trees in this region. First of all, jackfruit trees are only suitable for land with an altitude of 400 - 1,200m. This is not an advantage in the Mekong Delta region. Farmers must redesign their gardens so that jackfruit trees can grow and develop best. This is a crop that is attacked by many types of pests, causing a decrease in productivity and tree death. In addition, the main export market for jackfruit trees is currently China.

Meanwhile, the Chinese market is full of risks as this country is demanding that all agricultural products exported to China must follow official channels, be strictly quarantined and have traceable origins, while Vietnamese growers and businesses have not prepared anything. In particular, according to recent records of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), China is also expanding the jackfruit acreage to 180,000 hectares.

“Regarding trade promotion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is currently contacting countries to officially export jackfruit. Domestic enterprises are also looking for jackfruit consumption markets,” Mr. Tung informed.

Meanwhile, according to an official from the Tien Giang Province Department of Crop Production, the province will not allow the expansion of jackfruit growing areas in the area. “The province’s viewpoint is to maintain the existing area, focus on care, and manage quality well. Regarding output, the Provincial People’s Committee has directed the Department of Industry and Trade to find ways to boost jackfruit consumption for farmers,” he said.

Currently, Tien Giang province has about 6,000 hectares of Thai jackfruit.

It is known that the Provincial People's Committee and the Provincial Party Committee of Tien Giang have strictly directed the authorities to be strict with farmers growing jackfruit on rice land using Circular No. 19 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The conversion of crops on rice land must be approved by the local authorities. Tien Giang Province has recorded violations of illegal crop conversion.

Currently, Tien Giang province has about 6,000 hectares of Thai jackfruit. The total area of ​​jackfruit newly planted on raised rice fields from 2017 to present is 1,150 hectares. The remaining area is converted and intercropped in ineffective fruit gardens. In particular, the area of ​​Thai jackfruit is expanding rapidly on pineapple growing land in Tan Phuoc district.