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 many risks.

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, imported 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, because the origin of the varieties is not managed, 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, the 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 hard 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 Cam Vinh was established in 2007, the management of GI of Cam Vinh has not been implemented well since then. The number of oranges sold on the market every year with the Cam Vinh label is not significant. Orange producers are not interested in using GI of Cam Vinh. The situation of fake Cam Vinh 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 Cam Vinh has been successful. The initial results show good results.

In orange production areas outside the Cam Vinh geographical indication area such as Anh Son, Con Cuong, Yen Thanh, etc., almost no one has paid attention to 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 must be 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 varieties to around 4 Vinh orange varieties and one or two other varieties (such as V2). It is necessary to encourage and support some businesses or public service units to produce and supply disease-free orange seeds to orange growers. Encourage orange growers to buy orange seeds from reliable 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 be able to sell oranges 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 Cam Vinh geographical indication 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 Cam Vinh geographical indication area at this time, not only will it not improve the reputation, but it will even damage the reputation of Cam Vinh.

Therefore, other districts such as Yen Thanh, Anh Son, Con Cuong should now 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 their capacity to manage the quality and brand of oranges in their districts. When the time is right, oranges from these districts will be added to the geographical indication of Vinh Orange.

To make 'Vinh orange' truly reign 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 exercise 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.

+ Building and announcing the quality of oranges. Oranges sold on the market need to have a quality announcement, especially regarding food hygiene and safety. If we just promote and encourage the growing of clean oranges without managing the quality, it will not be effective.

+ Stick electronic stamps to trace the origin. This is a solution that is not expensive (To stick electronic stamps to trace the origin 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.