Increasing the value chain for Vinh oranges

(Baonghean) - Vinh oranges have long been known as a high-quality product. However, in the production chain, the output is still unstable, requiring synchronous solutions to build a sustainable consumption channel and target foreign markets.

High economic value

In early November, we had the opportunity to return to Minh Hop (Quy Hop) - a place famous for its fruit-laden orange gardens bearing the famous Cam Vinh brand. On an area of ​​0.75 hectares, the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai and Mr. Kieu Quang Vinh, retired workers of Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited, planted 390 Van Du orange trees. This is the fourth year the orange trees have been harvested. Leading us through the fruit-laden orange trees, Ms. Mai said: "On this land area, in the past, we also planted oranges, then switched to growing sugarcane when the sugar factory was established. But since 2007, my family has returned to growing oranges. The actual results show that the economic value that orange trees bring is much greater than other crops."

Orange season at Xuan Thanh farm (Quy Hop). Photo: Van Hai

In 2013, Ms. Mai's family's orange garden yielded 40 tons of fruit, sold at a starting price of 22,000 VND/kg and at the end of the season sold for up to 60,000 VND/kg, bringing in a total income of nearly 900 million VND; the investment cost for care was about 80 million VND, so the family earned a net profit of more than 800 million VND. With the same amount of trees, but according to Ms. Mai's estimate, the 2014 orange crop yield decreased by about half compared to the 2013 orange crop, but the good news is that this year's orange price is higher because market demand continues to increase, while supply is limited. “At this time, every day there are traders coming to the garden to buy oranges, the price of oranges with defective designs is also offered up to 16,000 VND/kg. In general, since the registration of Vinh Orange geographical indication, the selling price of oranges has been much more stable than before. Therefore, the lives of families have gradually become stable, with the conditions to renovate their houses and take care of their children's education,” Ms. Mai shared.

We continued to follow the winding roads between the vast Minh Hop orange area to visit the orange garden of Mr. Le Van Thinh and Ms. Le Thi Phuong - workers of team 5, Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited. With only 0.5 hectares of orange growing land, the income of the couple's family is truly a dream number for many farmers. The orange garden was planted at the end of 2009 with 300 Xa Doai orange trees with golden hearts. When the orange trees were 2.5 years old, they yielded 1.5 tons of fruit, earning 30 million VND. "By 2013, the garden yielded 6.5 tons of fruit, earning 175 million VND. In the 2014 orange crop, the orange garden is expected to yield 18 tons, with a garden price of 42,000 VND/kg, which will bring in a considerable income for the family," said Mr. Thinh.

In Minh Hop, there are still many households with high income from orange trees. According to our research, Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited alone has 700 hectares, mainly growing Xa Doai, Van Du, V2, Song Con orange varieties, assigned to 680 households, of which 300 hectares are for business. According to the company's calculations, the total exploited area yields 4,500 tons of fruit; in 2014, the expected yield is about 4,000 tons of fruit. Mr. Hoang Minh - Director of Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited said: In 2014, the average revenue reached about 300 - 350 million VND/ha, while the obligation on the contracted land was only 5 - 6 million VND/ha, so the income of the contracted people is very high.

Not worthy of potential

Behind certain results, the Minh Hop orange area in particular, and Quy Hop oranges in general, still have hidden unsustainable factors. First of all, in the current orange production in Quy Hop, the value chain for orange products still lacks a guaranteed output "piece". According to our research, currently all orange products here are self-consumed by traders, so in the psychology of orange growers, there is always the worry of a good harvest - low price like other agricultural products. Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai, a resident who has contracted land from Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited, shared: "The area and output of oranges are increasing, while the output only depends on traders, so in the long run we are somewhat worried. Because when supply exceeds demand, orange growers are very susceptible to price pressure". This worry of orange growers is completely justified, because currently, the orange area of ​​the whole Quy Hop district is about 1,400 hectares, and will continue to increase in the following years. And farmers have very practical concerns, like Mr. Le Van Thinh, worker of team 5, Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited said: "Currently, the most difficult thing is buying the right pesticides in the process of caring for orange trees, because there are many stores selling them on the market; no one can be sure of the quality and origin. Besides, because there is no official distribution channel, there are greedy traders who buy oranges from other regions and mix them with Vinh oranges to sell, thereby affecting the quality and brand of Vinh oranges."

In addition to the output problem, the current orange growing model affects the overall quality of the product. Mr. Hoang Minh - Director of Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited said that due to land allocation in the form of household contracts, there are difficulties in management and production, and orange trees have different ages, leading to uneven quality of orange products between households and regions. Only about 60% of orange products after harvest are of good quality and can be sold at high prices. In addition, trade promotion and advertising of Vinh orange products on the market are still limited, leading to many difficulties in brand recognition for consumers. To overcome the above situation and improve the value chain of goods, in 2014, Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited organized trade promotion in a number of major cities across the country, especially selecting a number of high-quality oranges to label the fruit and offer for sale in Hanoi. “Our goal is to have Vinh orange products not only consumed domestically but also present in foreign markets. To do so, the company really needs support in trade promotion; in addition, it is a link with foreign partners to build post-harvest storage warehouses to ensure product quality.

In the near future, there will be a delegation from the Embassy and Japanese businesses coming to learn about Vinh orange products in Minh Hop. We hope to cooperate with Japanese partners to export Vinh oranges to the Japanese market," said Mr. Hoang Minh - Director of Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company Limited. Discussing the output issue for Quy Hop orange products, Mr. Hoang Van Thai - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quy Hop district added: Quy Hop district really wants to have a fruit preservation and processing factory located in the area. This will create a stable output for orange products, increasing the production value chain under the condition that the planned orange area will increase day by day.

Nhat Le