Con Cuong orange growers worry about not being able to get the 'Vinh Orange' label

(Baonghean.vn) - Con Cuong is a famous orange orchard of Nghe An with clean, sweet and fragrant oranges and is receiving Japanese investment and guidance to create many clean products; however, Con Cuong oranges are not included in the Vinh orange geographical indication.

This means that in the future, Con Cuong oranges will not be labeled "Vinh oranges".

Mr. Le Minh Luu's family, in Na Pha village, Yen Khe commune, is a veteran of growing oranges in the locality. They have 2.5 hectares of oranges with over 1,000 orange trees.

Mr. Luu said: These past few days, through following the news on the newspaper, I learned that Vinh oranges will soon be labeled with electronic labels to trace their origins. This is a good condition to build the Vinh orange brand, help buyers recognize which oranges are good, avoid the situation of taking advantage of fake oranges and help orange growers feel secure in getting rich from orange trees.

Mr. Le Minh Luu, in Na Pha village, Yen Khe commune - Con Cuong, was sad when he heard that his oranges were no longer labeled Vinh oranges. Photo: Ba Hau

However, we, the orange growers in Con Cuong, were extremely surprised to see that Con Cuong oranges were not included in the Vinh orange geographical indication, which means that we will soon be on the sidelines of this event. This is completely unreasonable because Con Cuong oranges have long been a specialty of Con Cuong and a specialty of Nghe An.

Mr. Nguyen Van Trung in Lam Tra Hamlet, Bong Khe Commune said: Our family has a Van Du orange garden with 3 hectares of oranges with 1,500 trees. The quality of the fruit is delicious and sweet, so traders from all over the country come to buy it from the beginning of the season. Each orange season, the family harvests about 5-6 tons, after deducting all expenses, the profit is over 200 million VND. However, I still cannot believe that Con Cuong oranges are not included in the Vinh orange guide.

Con Cuong district currently has 310 hectares of oranges, of which 97 hectares are being harvested with an expected yield of 14 tons/hectare. The total output in 2017 is expected to reach over 1,300 tons. Con Cuong oranges currently have main markets in Vinh city, Hanoi, and Da Nang. Con Cuong oranges have a place in the market thanks to their special sweet and aromatic taste.

Orange essential oil made from clean Con Cuong oranges under Jica's guidance. Photo: Jica

In particular, Con Cuong oranges are grown according to VietGAP clean orange standards, so consumers really like the product. In 2017, Con Cuong district also applied the branding of Con Cuong oranges on products brought to the market on a larger scale.

But Con Cuong oranges are not on the list of localities allowed to use the Vinh orange logo and brand identity system for exclusive protection.

"This will cause a lot of disadvantages for orange growers when they sell to other provinces. And it will be disadvantageous for us orange growers when we expand our acreage. Currently, even districts like Nghia Dan and Quy Hop go to Con Cuong to buy oranges for sale during the orange season. We propose that the province include Con Cuong oranges in the Vinh orange geographical indication to create conditions for us orange growers to enjoy the benefits of our local quality products" - Mr. Le Minh Luu, Na Pha village, Yen Khe commune shared.

Talking to the representative of the Department of Science and Technology about this issue, Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Deputy Director, said that in principle, only places with geographical indications for Vinh oranges can have Vinh orange labels.

Queen Mother