Green-skinned grapefruit garden sells for Tet and earns over one billion VND
The 5-hectare green-skin pomelo garden of Mr. Ho Hoang Kha, 27 years old in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, produced 50 tons of fruit, earning a profit of over one billion VND even though the price was only 80% of last year's Tet.
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| Song Xoai Commune (Phu My Town, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province) has about 120 households growing green-skinned grapefruit, with an area of about 160 hectares. Grapefruit in this locality has a sweet taste, large, dry grapefruit segments, so it is favored by the market. |
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| Mr. Ho Hoang Kha is considered a typical farmer in Song Xoai commune, with a high-tech grapefruit growing model. Last year, his grapefruit garden brought him an income of more than 4 billion VND. "This Tet season alone, I harvested about 50 tons of grapefruit. After deducting expenses, I made a profit of more than 1 billion VND," he said. |
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| Workers pick green-skinned grapefruit in Mr. Kha's garden a week before the Lunar New Year. His garden grows 10 hectares of green-skinned grapefruit, 3-17 years old, which bears fruit all year round. To harvest in time for Tet, he processed 5 hectares of grapefruit that had been flowering since May. |
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| "Cutting grapefruit for Tet must be done very carefully and gently. The grapefruit must still have its stems and leaves intact," said Be, a worker. Kha has hired 6 people to take care of and pick grapefruit all year round. During the days before Tet, he has to hire 10-15 more people. |
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| Ms. Nam (40 years old, black shirt), who has worked in the garden for more than 4 years, said that to avoid the grapefruit from being bruised or falling off, groups of three people have to pass the grapefruit down from the tree and gently load it onto the cart. The grapefruit is then transported to the collection point by wheelbarrow. |
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| Workers use a towel soaked in white wine mixed with clean water to wipe the grapefruit peel. "This helps clean stains and chalk and makes the peel shinier, so it can be preserved for a long time," said Ms. Nam. |
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| Kha sells green-skinned, red-fleshed grapefruit for 17,000 - 45,000 VND depending on the type. According to the garden owner, this year's erratic weather has made taking care of the grapefruit garden very difficult. The selling price is only 80% of last year while the percentage of first-class grapefruit is lower. |
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| The "selected" grapefruits, after being cleaned, become smooth and even, and are sold to long-time customers to buy as gifts and to display during Tet. In addition to cars in the province, many cars from Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai... also stop by Kha's garden to buy grapefruits. |