Farmers successfully grow 5 expensive 'super fruits'

Woody tomatoes (Magic - S) costing millions per kilogram, "billion dollar" macadamia trees, "luxurious" pepino melons, rare red-fleshed Cara Cara oranges, black tomatoes costing 5 times more than regular tomatoes are 5 types of super fruits with expensive prices that have been successfully grown by Vietnamese farmers.

1. Magic-S super tomato costs millions per kg

Dr. Pham S, Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, is the first person in Vietnam to successfully grow a fruit tree originating from the Andes Mountains (Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia...), with the commercial name Magic-S and has been granted a protection certificate by the Vietnam Intellectual Property Office.

In the world, this is a fairly new plant species compared to many other crops, only starting to be traded commercially around 1996. In Southeast Asia, few countries can grow it because Magic-S has quite strict ecological requirements, especially in terms of climate, altitude...

Dr. Pham S believes that in Vietnam, the ecological conditions of the Central Highlands are most suitable for Magic-S. The tree grows quickly, after only 8 - 10 months it is about 1.5 - 1.7m tall and bears fruit. Each tree produces an average of 12 - 15kg of fruit per year, especially in highly intensive gardens, the tree can produce more than 20kg of fruit per year.

“The above price really encourages those who are investing in growing Magic-S, opening up great opportunities to get rich. Currently, there are 5 farms and farming households growing this fruit. Many other households have also contacted to request support for growing Magic-S,” said Dr. Pham S.

2. "Billion dollar queen" macadamia

Originating from faraway Australia, macadamia has been widely grown in Vietnam, especially in the Central Highlands.

While both managers and farmers are still struggling with the problem of "what to plant and what to raise", in the early years of the 21st century, the working group of former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan brought a new variety of tree - macadamia tree from Australia to test planting in Vietnam. According to agricultural experts, this is a tree that cannot be ignored and developed in Vietnam.

With the advantages of high economic value, especially suitable for the geography and soil in Vietnam, few pests and diseases..., experts believe that this will be one of the plants that contribute to poverty reduction for Vietnamese farmers. A macadamia tree can produce up to 70 kg of nuts and with the current price of about 15 USD/kg of nuts, it only takes 10 years to develop 100,000 hectares, we can achieve a turnover of 1 billion USD in macadamia exports, that is the opinion of those who brought this plant variety from Australia to Vietnam.

And in fact, after more than 10 years of this tree being experimentally planted in some localities in the Northwestern and Central Highlands provinces, the benefits it brings are quite clear. Macadamia nuts are considered the most delicious, most labor-intensive and expensive nuts in the world. The nuts are 2-3cm in size, round, crème-colored, very fragrant, the kernel is soft like butter and melts smoothly on the tip of the tongue when put in the mouth.

3. "Luxurious" pepino melon

South American watermelon, also known as pepino melon, is quite popular with many customers. Watermelons originating from South America, only the size of a fist, are being grown by farmers in Da Lat.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh (30 years old) on Lam Vien Street, Ward 8, Da Lat City is the first person in Lam Dong to successfully grow the super sweet pepino melon variety.

Through the introduction of a friend in Japan, Mr. Dinh imported pepino melon seeds for experimental planting. Mr. Dinh planted about 500 plants on an area of ​​nearly 200 square meters. As an agricultural engineer, for him, the technique of growing this type of melon was not too difficult, although it was the first time he had approached this strange type of melon.

Pepino melon is grown by Mr. Dinh in a greenhouse using high-tech methods. This is a new crop, suitable for Da Lat's soil, giving high yield and quality fruit. This variety is white when green, and turns yellow with purple stripes when ripe, looking quite beautiful.

4. Rare red flesh orange Cara Cara

With its unique color, outstanding vitamin C content, and affordable price, both domestic and imported red-fleshed oranges (also known as Cara oranges) are reported to be "out of stock".

As the first person to bring this orange variety from Australia to Vietnam for planting since 2000, Mr. Mai Viet Phuong - Director of Phuong Mai Company Limited said that his farm currently has about 35 hectares of red-fleshed oranges, with an average harvest of more than one ton per week, but still not enough to supply the market.

In addition to supplying products, Mr. Phuong also imports seedlings from Australia to distribute to farmers. Currently, some gardeners in Bao Loc (Lam Dong) and the Western provinces have also tried planting and have been relatively successful. "It's not yet the main season, but my garden still regularly supplies about 1 ton a week. The main customers are agricultural products and exotic fruit stores in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The selling price at the garden is about 35,000-50,000 VND/kg, depending on the type," said Mr. Phuong.

5. Black tomatoes cost 5 times more than regular tomatoes

Since the first half of 2014, black tomato varieties have been introduced to Da Lat - Lam Dong. Some people have boldly tried to grow them on a very small scale, and even failed because they did not understand the care process. Among the few people who are considered successful with black tomatoes is Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Thuy in K'Long C village, Hiep An commune, Duc Trong district.

According to Ms. Thuy, to be successful with black tomatoes, it is advisable to grow them in a greenhouse, but the investment cost is high, averaging from 150 to 200 million VND for 1,000 square meters, not to mention the irrigation system and a large amount of manure, plus the high price of seeds.

"When I decided to grow black tomatoes, I initially felt it was risky because this was a new variety, a strange product and I didn't know if consumers would accept it. But when I took pictures of black tomatoes and posted them on Facebook to introduce them, I didn't expect that after just one day, people would come to buy them in large quantities that I couldn't meet," said Ms. Thuy.

Due to limited quantity, the price of black tomatoes on the market is currently quite high, even very difficult to buy. Therefore, many times the price of this new product when reaching consumers is up to 150,000 - 200,000 VND/kg.

According to Baodanviet