Hope the day Tuong mango "takes off"!

(Baonghean) -For a long time, the people of Tuong Duong have considered mangoes a local specialty fruit. However, despite their pride, mango growers here are sad, because there are many mangoes, high quality but low value because they are mainly consumed in the district...

Going up to Tuong Duong this season, along National Highway 7, passing through the communes of Tam Quang, Tam Dinh, Tam Thai, Thach Giam, Xa Luong... everywhere you can see mango gardens full of fruit. Asking and listening to drivers say, this year, mangoes have a good harvest, but the price has dropped, only about 12 - 15 thousand VND/kg... Arriving at Hoa Binh Town, asking about the origin of the mango tree in Tuong, some knowledgeable people told: Go to Lung village, Tam Thai to find out, that is the "origin" of mangoes.

In Lung village, almost every family has more than 10 mango trees scattered in the garden and most of them are full of fruit. Entering the house of Village Chief Loc Van Dau, meeting Mrs. Lo Thi Hoa, Mr. Dau's wife happily said that the house has 10 mango trees, but only half of them are original Tuong mango trees. According to Mrs. Hoa, Tuong mango trees have different characteristics from other mango trees because of their rough bark, small leaves with dark green color, thick trees, wide canopy... Tuong mango fruit is only about the size of an adult's fist, slightly round, slightly rough skin with white powder, the stem has black spots, even before peeling, it gives off a mild fragrance, when ripe it has a rich sweet and nutty taste, and when the mango is unripe it has a light sour taste. Those who have enjoyed Tuong mango will surely remember its taste as being much better than other mango varieties...



Mrs. Lo Thi Hoa uses a net to pick Tuong mangoes.



Tuong Duong mango has a unique and attractive flavor.

According to Mr. Vi Viet Kieu, Vice Chairman of Tam Thai Commune, not only in Lung village but almost every family in Tam Thai also grows mangoes, and this is also a source of income when the fruit ripens. However, the income from mangoes is not high, so the government and people all see the need to do something to make Tuong mangoes a brand, ensure consumption and increase economic value. Xa Luong Commune has many households growing hundreds of mango trees such as Mr. Truong Van Sam's family in Khe Ngau village (300 trees), Mr. Vi Xuan Dieu in Na Tong village (300 trees), Mr. Vi Van Sen in Nhan village (200 trees)... And because of the good harvest, the price of mangoes... has dropped! In addition, there are no local buyers, so when the mango season comes, these families cannot pick and sell all of them, sometimes they have to accept watching the ripe mangoes fall without knowing what to do.

It is known that Tuong Duong district has made efforts to create a brand for mangoes. According to the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, on June 16 every year, the district usually organizes a beautiful mango contest to promote and introduce Tuong mangoes. This year is the same, on June 16-17, the district will organize a local goods contest - fair, in which it will continue to organize a beautiful mango contest to simultaneously promote local specialty fruit varieties and select parent trees as a basis for restoring this variety. And the communes of Thach Giam, Tam Thai, Xa Luong and Hoa Binh town will participate in this year's beautiful mango contest.

Mr. Lo Van Thanh - an expert from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tuong Duong district said: "Many people have invested in planting from 50 to hundreds of mango trees spread across the communes along National Highway 7. When they heard about the competition, they were very happy because they knew this was an opportunity to promote the Tuong mango brand" - Mr. Thanh said - "Honestly, seeing that mangoes from our hometown have good quality but the value is lower than mangoes from other places, we cannot help but feel sad. Hopefully one day, Tuong mangoes will be a commodity present in many other regions...".

Nhat Lan