The person who brought Xa Doai orange specialty to the world's dining tables
Among the sunny and windy hills of Nghe An, there is a man who quietly devotes his whole life to cherishing, preserving and giving wings to the famous Xa Doai orange variety - the orange variety once known as the "royal orange" of Nghe An. He is Trinh Xuan Giao, the man who turned the wild land into a model farm, built the Thien Son orange brand, Xa Doai golden heart orange, and contributed to bringing Vinh oranges on planes to Japan and many other countries.
.png)
Author:Pearl -Technique:Hong Toai• 03/08/2025
.png)
Born and raised in Van Tu commune (former Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province), Mr. Trinh Xuan Giao was once a soldier of Uncle Ho's army. After working in many other jobs, he accumulated experience and agricultural knowledge and cherished the dream of restoring the Vinh orange area, of which Xa Doai orange is a precious orange variety of Nghe An that has been famous since ancient times. It is said that the French brought seeds to Xa Doai to plant and have an excellent sweet and fragrant flavor, and were presented to the king in the past.
Growing oranges requires a lot of capital, facing many difficulties in the context of little capital, limited machinery and technology, many people at that time thought that he was "crazy" when he decided to destroy the vast acacia forest to grow oranges on the barren land of the old Dong Thanh commune. But with his iron determination and strategic vision, he realized that the world preferred to use safe, natural foods with clear origins. He persevered on his journey to conquer and give wings to a quintessence of his homeland.
The pickup truck traveled nearly 150km to take us to the border area of Mon Son commune (former Con Cuong district), a commune bordering Vietnam - Laos. The mountainous road with steep and winding slopes took him 6 months to level and create to reach the farm he planned to invest in. After 2 years of land improvement, leveling, infrastructure for machinery to move, then planting, waiting for new hope from the green shoots, finally the 60ha orange farm was born. From here, he and his family stayed up and slept with the oranges, guarding, monitoring the growth, and watering the difficult tree in the middle of the remote mountainous area. Why grow oranges here, he had to spend a lot of time researching and evaluating the limestone soil of Mon Son, this place is surrounded by mountains, the air is fresh, in the nearby area there is Bai Phu Farm that used to produce wonderful oranges. Bringing oranges here is also a way to rotate orange crops when the farms in his hometown have gradually degraded. Not stopping at growing oranges, Mr. Trinh Xuan Giao determined from the beginning: It is necessary to create an agricultural product brand with sustainable value for Nghe An. In the period of 2017-2020, some orange gardens in Nghe An experienced rotten and fallen oranges. Thousands of hectares of Vinh oranges due to poor quality seeds and diseases have ruined the Vinh orange brand, causing hundreds of tons of oranges to be dumped. Every household cut down oranges, Vinh oranges were in dire straits. That heartbreaking scene made him even more determined to build standard orange farms like he had done, to prove a new way, a methodical investment direction, standard from the origin. With the motto "doing farming like doing science", loving trees like children, he applied the process of growing clean oranges according to VietGAP standards, then gradually upgraded to GlobalGAP - the most stringent international standard for agricultural products that can go around the world.
.png)
Each orange is the crystallization of the earth, the sky and the human heart. We do not only harvest the fruit, but also cultivate what has been taken away - so that the earth is not tired, the tree is not exhausted, and tomorrow there will still be a sweet season.
Mr. Trinh Xuan Giao
On November 24, 2020, the good news was that Thien Son orange farm was officially granted GlobalGAP certification - becoming the first orange farm in Nghe An to meet global export standards. A historic milestone not only for him, but also for the local agricultural sector. Thien Son oranges are now not only properly displayed in major domestic supermarkets such as AEON, Winmart, but also gradually conquering demanding markets such as Japan, Germany and Korea...
What makes Thien Son oranges different is not only the precious orange variety, but also the modern farming mindset of a person who has traveled a lot and knows a lot. Mr. Giao has invested thoroughly from the stage of soil improvement, digging drainage ditches to prevent waterlogging, to selecting the best varieties, controlling pests and diseases using biological methods and absolutely not using toxic chemicals. On the orange trees, biological traps are hung, during the orange flowering season, the work of checking, controlling the number of flowers, catching pests... is always done regularly. Fertilizers are also carefully selected, prioritizing imported salmon nitrogen fertilizer, biological products from Japan, and applying microbiological technology to help the plants absorb nutrients best while still maintaining absolute safety for consumers. He invested in a drip irrigation system, automatically monitoring humidity and nutrition to help water gently flow to each root, slowly nurturing the fruit step by step so that the oranges are not too big, nor too sweet. Each orange tree at the farm can yield 70 kg of fruit, achieving a high standard ratio, thin peel, plump segments, and the characteristic sweet taste of Xa Doai oranges.
The results are worth the effort. After only 3 years, Thien Son orange farm can harvest hundreds of tons of oranges each season, selling 50,000 VND per kilogram, with a revenue of tens of billions of VND per year. In the 2022 crop season alone, his farm achieved a revenue of more than 18 billion VND, a dream farm for any farmer. In 2023 - 2024, due to farming completely according to biological processes, the fruit is not abundant but the selling price is good. On Mr. Giao's farm, cars run for hours, the cool air of the highlands, the sound of tractors and harvesters rumble, and in the foliage, the silhouettes of people tending and harvesting appear. From large orange farms, Mr. Giao and his wife also create jobs for dozens of local workers, helping them have jobs, opening their eyes to a modern farming method, from care to operating machinery, pruning, and harvesting fruit. Even when harvested, oranges cannot be kept for long and must be transported to customers while still fresh.
As a businessman, he often flies on Vietnam Airlines, and has noticed that the airline often introduces seasonal Vietnamese fruits alongside the meal menu. He thinks of his Vinh orange farm, of the specialties of his hometown Nghe An. His heart flutters as he imagines that one day, the oranges he personally grows will be present on every flight - carrying with them both pride and passionate love for his homeland. Not letting the thought be just a thought, getting off the plane, he tosses and turns all night without being able to sleep. The product is already there, but how to meet the quality standards, be trusted and chosen, makes him appreciate his clean production methods even more. He has just started to learn step by step to realize the dream of bringing Vinh oranges on flights. Studying every document and request, persistently following the strict process, he traveled all the way to Vietnam Airlines Corporation, knocking on the doors of every department, with only one simple but burning desire: To enjoy his hometown's specialties once in the air with pride. It is difficult to describe this journey, only knowing that in the end, his orange farm was chosen. A delegation of Vietnam Airlines officials went to the farm to directly survey and evaluate the cultivation process. They wanted to witness with their own eyes and believe that those sweet oranges were truly clean and safe for passengers. And then, after a strict inspection process, Mr. Trinh Xuan Giao's Vinh oranges were officially approved to be on Vietnam Airlines flights - bringing with them the beloved flavor of Nghe An. Many times, from the simple introduction on the menu, he received phone calls from overseas Vietnamese to inquire and congratulate him. The happiness just melted away...
His oranges were selected to be included in the meals of international airlines - a form of high-class promotion, helping foreign consumers know a fruit with Vietnamese identity. Promoting Vietnamese agricultural products to the world through real events and real people like this is truly a clever way of introducing. This is not only a "greeting higher than a feast" but also an opportunity to tell the story of the land, people and farming traditions of Vietnam. When agricultural products are present in luxurious and symbolic spaces, their value is enhanced and arouses the interest of international consumers and tourists. This cultural experience helps Vietnamese products go beyond the usual commercial limits, touching emotions and national pride.
Not stopping there, Mr. Giao also went directly to Japan, Germany, and Korea to meet partners, introduce products, and bring famous oranges from his hometown to prestigious exhibition fairs. Since 2021, Mr. Trinh Xuan Giao's Thien Son oranges have officially appeared in the Japanese AEON retail system - where standards are strict down to every detail. Every day, with the familiar work from the orange gardens, he has also proactively learned to start a deeper processing step from orange products, extending the life cycle of agricultural products. Orange peels are researched to produce essential oils, natural dishwashing liquid; cold-pressed orange juice is bottled to serve the high-end market; orange powder serves the food and cosmetics industry. The plan for a large factory processing orange products is still his near-term dream.
In the era of integration, when many traditional brands are gradually fading away, Mr. Trinh Xuan Giao is one of the people who preserve the soul of Xa Doai oranges. In addition to the original orange trees of the people, he also grafted a Xa Doai orange farm next to the old orange village to monitor and preserve the precious orange varieties. Having met him many times, behind the honesty and simplicity of a person attached to the fields is a great vision, a great determination, a heart full of enthusiasm for the agricultural products of his homeland. From an ordinary farmer, he has become a typical model for the modern farming generation - knowing how to combine ability with science and technology and production according to the value chain, within him a genuine scientist has formed.
Trinh Xuan Giao is not just an orange grower - he is a symbol of the pioneering spirit, daring to think, daring to change. He chose the path of real production, clean production with the desire to bring a source of safe nutrients to consumers. From the barren land of ethnic minorities, he built a model farm, creating the famous Thien Son orange brand - where oranges not only spread the flavor of Nghe An but also stepped out into the world. From an orange variety that seemed to be lost, he revived and enriched its value, bringing oranges across the ocean, enriching the position of Vietnamese agricultural products on the world map.
The man who has been awake all his life with the scent of oranges has tirelessly followed the footsteps of his father who introduced the precious orange variety to Nghe An. And he has quietly continued the journey of preserving this land's "treasure" on the agricultural front. The oranges imbued with the scent of sun and wind, through each season, each flight, touch the hearts of children far away from home - when one day on a flight between the vast sky and earth.
