Hot issues in orange tree development in Nghe An

Those issues are:

1. Planning and planning management issues:According to the citrus development plan of Nghe An until 2020, the orange area is 5,150 hectares, of which the concentrated orange area is 3,870 hectares, with an output of 40 thousand tons. However, up to now, the orange area of ​​the whole province has reached 5,096 hectares, of which more than 2,500 hectares are commercial oranges. Meanwhile, in districts with the potential to grow oranges, orange trees are being developed quite vigorously, including many places not included in the plan. Thus, by 2020, the orange area will certainly exceed the plan. This will put orange trees at great risk.

Oranges in Minh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). Photo: Dao Tuan

2. About orange varieties:In addition to the 4 orange varieties under the geographical indication of Vinh orange (Xa Doai 1, Xa Doai 2, Van Du and Song Con), in reality there are many other orange varieties, introduced to Nghe An through many different routes. In addition to the V2 orange variety, most of the other orange varieties are of poor quality. In particular, due to the uncontrolled origin of the varieties, the quality of the varieties is not guaranteed, many of which are infected with diseases, the most dangerous of which is greening.

3. About the production process:Although having experience in growing oranges, the current orange growing process of the majority of units and households tends to abuse pesticides. An orange tree expert said: On average, each hectare of oranges costs about 100 million VND per year to care for, of which about 70% of that amount is spent on pesticides. Each year, orange trees must be sprayed with pesticides and chemicals about 10-15 times. It can be said that the current orange growing process cannot be said to be safe, especially Nghe An oranges are difficult to meet export standards. Even in the domestic market, when food safety requirements are increasingly high, Nghe An oranges will also have a very difficult time.

Orange preservation technology has not received much attention. Orange production is large, but only lasts for a few months, so the efficiency of orange production and business is not high.

4. About the product:Vinh oranges are mainly sold in the market as fresh oranges. There are only a few businesses that process some orange products, such as soft drinks, jams, dried fruits, wine, etc., but the scale is insignificant.

5. About branding:Although the geographical indication (GI) of Vinh oranges was established in 2007, since then the management of GI of Vinh oranges has not been well implemented. The number of oranges sold on the market with the label of Vinh oranges is not significant each year. Orange producers are not interested in using GI of Vinh oranges. The situation of fake Vinh oranges in the market still occurs, but has not been handled. This year's orange season, the pilot application of electronic stamps to trace the origin of Vinh oranges has shown good results. The initial results show that it is effective.

Orange producing areas outside the Vinh Orange geographical indication area such as Anh Son, Con Cuong, Yen Thanh… almost no one is interested in building and developing brands.

The problems we have just mentioned above are putting Nghe An orange trees in general, and Vinh orange trees in particular, in front of great challenges and risks. In fact, besides some places where oranges are grown with high efficiency, on the contrary, many places have very low orange prices (under 20,000 VND, even 10,000 VND/kg). In the near future, if there is no synchronous solution, Nghe An oranges are at risk of a surplus crisis. Not to mention, the disease on oranges is currently very worrying. In addition, the abuse of pesticides also risks making it difficult to give oranges away for free.

People buy oranges at Vinh Orange Fair. Photo: Archive

1. The province needs to manage planning well. Limit the development of orange trees based on trends. Places that are not in the planning area are not encouraged and there are management solutions to prevent people from planting them arbitrarily.

2. The agricultural sector needs to strictly manage the source of orange seeds. Limit the number of orange seeds to around 4 Vinh orange varieties and one or two other varieties (such as V2). It is necessary to encourage and support a number of enterprises or public service units to produce and supply disease-free orange seeds to orange growers. Encourage orange growers to buy orange seeds from trusted places with clear origins. It is necessary to increase the application of technical solutions and clean orange growing processes.

3. Encourage potential businesses to build orange preservation facilities, applying the most modern orange preservation technology, to ensure quality and have oranges for sale all year round. Attract investment, encourage businesses to process and deeply process orange products.

4. About the brand:

- The province needs to soon have a policy on building a brand for Nghe An oranges, or using the common geographical indication of Cam Vinh for all Nghe An oranges, or letting localities outside the Cam Vinh geographical indication area build their own brands. In our opinion, in the current situation, the management of Cam Vinh geographical indication is still very difficult and confusing, the effectiveness and efficiency are not high, the quality of oranges in the geographical indication area as well as in other districts is very uneven. If we hastily expand the geographical indication of Cam Vinh at this time, not only will it not improve the reputation, but it will even discredit Cam Vinh.

Therefore, at present, other districts such as Yen Thanh, Anh Son, Con Cuong should build their own brands. These districts should build collective brands or certification brands. Through the management of certification brands or collective brands, they can practice and improve the capacity of quality management and orange brands for their districts. When the time is right, oranges from these districts should be added to the Vinh Orange geographical indication area.

To make 'Vinh orange' truly reign supreme and maintain a sustainable brand

(Baonghean.vn) - Currently, some consumers who are connoisseurs of Vinh oranges say: "After tasting Vinh oranges with labels, I see that the quality of Vinh oranges between regions is not consistent." This assessment is true to reality.

+ Continue to strictly implement measures to manage Cam Vinh geographical indications. At the same time, encourage the establishment of trademarks, such as common trademarks of farms; collective trademarks for cooperatives; certification trademarks managed by the People's Committees of districts. Establishing and registering trademark protection is not difficult, the problem is how to manage the trademarks. We believe that in the current conditions, certification trademarks are easier to enforce management rights than collective trademarks or geographical indications, because the owners of certification trademarks are often the government or public service units with the function of quality management.

+ Develop and publish orange quality. Oranges sold on the market need to have quality announcements, especially regarding food hygiene and safety. If we just promote and encourage the cultivation of clean oranges without managing quality, it will not be effective.

+ Stick electronic traceability stamps. This is a solution that is not expensive (To stick electronic traceability stamps only costs about 200 VND per orange) but is proving to be very effective today.

+ Strengthen communication and promotion on mass media, especially social networks and organize events (Vinh Orange Fair is an example).

If the above 4 solutions are implemented, Vinh oranges in particular and Nghe An orange products in general can be competitive in the market and develop sustainably.