Cam Vinh: Has fame and fortune

(Baonghean) - For a long time, Vinh oranges have been familiar to many people inside and outside the province. We still clearly remember, in the 80s of the last century, when we were still in the village school, we memorized the verses of Pham Tien Duat in the poem "Orange Season", printed in the 3rd grade Vietnamese textbook: "The oranges of Xa Doai are juicy/ Golden drops like honey/ Cut the oranges outside the front door/ Fragrance drifts into the house"... The flavor of the hometown oranges also appears in profound lyrical songs, such as "the oranges of Xa Doai, Nghe An, the riper they are, the more fragrant they are" in the song "Ai vo xu Nghe", music by Pham Tuyen, poetry by Huy Can.

It can be affirmed that Vinh oranges, with familiar names such as Xa Doai oranges, Phu Quy oranges, Con Cuong oranges... have been famous far and wide and entered the minds of many generations and many regions. Many people admit that Vinh oranges are worthy of being at the top of Nghe An's typical products, and are also worthy of being the best orange product compared to other famous orange regions in the country.

But Vinh oranges are famous, but are the economic benefits from growing oranges worthy of that reputation? This question is not too difficult, when looking at the overall picture of Nghe An's economy every year, the position of orange trees is extremely modest...

Cam Vinh. Illustration photo: Internet

Nationwide, the orange consumption market has many advantages, but has the competitiveness of Vinh oranges gained the necessary, worthy and must-have advantages with the reputation of Vinh oranges that they have had and are having? Reality forces us to look straight, to speak frankly, that there are currently many orange regions in the country that are "born later". The scale and traditional reputation are still far inferior to Vinh oranges, but their participation and participation in the current integration period are clearly bustling, with advantages over Vinh oranges.

Recently, the Cao Phong orange festival (Hoa Binh province) was organized on a large scale, with strong promotion and publicity, and was one of the notable events. Around this event, many people who are passionate about Vinh oranges, including scientists and managers, expressed many feelings and regrets about the many things we have not been able to do with Vinh oranges and the Vinh orange brand.

Some people think that, in the integration period, one of the important issues of traditional products and goods is the issue of branding, and the same is true for Vinh oranges. That is not debatable. But with Vinh oranges, perhaps there needs to be a more thorough survey, evaluation, and understanding from many angles.

Recently, there have been some pressing issues regarding the consumption of Vinh oranges, causing difficulties for both consumers and orange growers.

Firstly, many people still know the Vinh orange brand but do not know how Vinh oranges differ from other orange varieties and species.

Second, many people want to buy Vinh oranges but do not know where to buy them, which source, or basis to confirm the official origin of Vinh oranges.

Third, what to do to prevent the phenomenon of taking advantage of the Vinh orange brand to sell other types of oranges, many traders sell oranges of other varieties and regions, under the name of Vinh oranges.

Fourth, not only bringing Vinh oranges to people who need Vinh oranges, but also introducing and promoting Vinh oranges more widely to develop Vinh oranges into a strong citrus tree of the province.

From the four issues mentioned above, it is clear that Vinh oranges have a reputation and a brand, which has partly created a relatively wide demand for consumption and enjoyment of Vinh oranges. The reality is that the Vinh orange brand already exists, but information about the Vinh orange brand is still unclear (not fully providing the necessary properties, characteristics, parameters, geographical indications... about Vinh oranges widely to consumers).

Besides, the building and promotion of Vinh orange brand has not been accompanied by good management and promotion of product value, seizing opportunities to affirm the benefits and economic position of Vinh orange. There has not been timely innovation and organization of production in the direction of cooperation, closely linking along the value chain between production and consumption of Vinh orange...

From this, some people compare Vinh oranges to a beautiful girl, so famous that some people “borrow her reputation” to get married; meanwhile, many people know and admire that beautiful girl, but have difficulty finding a way to approach her. So, that beautiful girl has not yet found a way to get married, has not yet “satisfied herself and her parents’ wishes”.

Therefore, the story of developing Vinh oranges is not only the story of orange growers, but also the story of managers, scientists, and businessmen. This issue requires participation, intellectual dedication, and constructive suggestions, thereby creating momentum for a "transformation", a renewal of organization, production, and consumption, in order to create a worthy position, commensurate with "name" and "reality", "name" and "fate" for Vinh orange products.

Chi Linh Mountain