Thanh Chuong: Bountiful orange harvest for Tet
(Baonghean)This year, orange growers in Thanh Chuong are delighted because oranges are fetching good prices, especially the late-ripening variety that will serve the market during the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Snake. Thanh Chuong oranges are concentrated in the Youth Volunteer Brigade - Economic Development Unit 2, Youth Volunteer Brigade - Economic Development Unit 5, and some other communes in the district…
Amidst the drizzling rain and biting cold of the mountainous weather, we visited the orange orchards of the families of the production teams under the Youth Volunteer Brigade 2 - Economic Development Group stationed in Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong district). The family of Mr. Ho Viet Cuong, a member of Team 3/2 (Youth Volunteer Brigade 2), has over 400 orange trees, including Van Du, Song Con, and Valencia varieties. Currently, the orchard has about 5 quintals of late-ripening oranges ready for the Lunar New Year market.
Leading us into his orchard of ripe, fruit-laden orange trees waiting to be harvested, Mr. Cuong excitedly said: “Compared to last year, the price of oranges is higher this year. Last year, my family earned 170 million VND from oranges, and this year, from the beginning of the season until now, we've earned about 250 million VND. All the oranges for Tet (Lunar New Year) have already been reserved at 40,000 VND/kg…” The 3/2 Production Team has 50 households, including 20 team members who grow oranges on an area of about 30 hectares. Initially, the team members received 50% of the seed cost and technical training from the team. For many years now, orange trees have brought a significant source of income to the team members' families, especially during Tet.
Ms. Phan Thi Hoan's family owns over 300 citrus trees, yielding an annual income of over 100 million VND. This year, in addition to sales from the beginning of the season, her family still has 3 tons of late-ripening citrus fruits for Tet (Lunar New Year). According to Ms. Hoan, if buyers don't place orders a month in advance, they won't be able to purchase the oranges. Families with beautiful, high-yielding orchards are considered to have struck it rich. In particular, the "cam bu" variety of oranges can sometimes fetch prices as high as 50,000 VND/kg. However, growers are also worried about the possibility of many oranges falling off or rotting due to thick frost and unstable temperatures during periods of severe cold.
Many team members said that while Van Du and Song Con oranges are more productive, Valencia oranges, although smaller and less dense, have a richer, sweeter taste. Mr. Phan Van Ngon, the team leader of the Youth Volunteer Brigade 2, said: Currently, the brigade has about 40 hectares of citrus fruits, including oranges and Valencia oranges, concentrated in production teams 3/2 and 15/7. Orange growers don't have to worry about sales because the oranges are bought directly from the orchards at an average price of 25-30 thousand VND/kg, with Tet oranges selling for 40-50 thousand VND/kg. However, the quantity of oranges available for Tet is also limited. Currently, each household has 5-7 quintals, mainly Valencia oranges and Huong Son (Ha Tinh) oranges. This year, the value from orange trees accounts for about 30% of the unit's income.
A late-ripening orange orchard, grown by members of the Youth Volunteer Brigade 2 - Economic Development, to supply the market for Tet (Lunar New Year). Photo: KL - VH
For a long time, oranges from the Youth Volunteer Brigades in Thanh Chuong district have become a popular brand among customers. Hoang Van Dong, the leader of Youth Volunteer Brigade 5, stationed in Thanh Ha and Thanh Thuy communes, said: "The soil in Khe Duom is very suitable for growing oranges, especially the 'cam bu' variety. Currently, the brigade focuses on growing oranges in Brigade 2 with 50 member households participating, covering an area of about 30 hectares. On average, they supply about 30 tons of both 'cam bu' and 'cam chanh' oranges to the market during Tet (Lunar New Year) each year. Many households earn 50-60 million VND from orange sales during Tet each year, such as the households of Mr. Tran Anh Tuan and Mr. Tran Van Nho…"
For many households in Thanh Nho commune (Thanh Chuong district), this year, orange trees have brought high incomes. For example, Mr. Nguyen Van Ky's family in Hamlet 10 has 2 hectares of orange trees, yielding an average of 2-2.5 tons, generating 70 million VND per hectare. The Cao Chi Luong - Tran Thi Lai family, also in Hamlet 10, has 400 orange trees (both pomelo and lemon varieties), earning over 100 million VND this year. "The normal price of oranges sold at the farm ranges from 30-40 thousand VND/kg, while for Tet (Lunar New Year), traders have already placed deposits at 50 thousand VND/kg, but there's still not enough to sell; the whole orchard only has a few hundred kilograms left," said Ms. Lai. Thanh Nho is also the unit selected by the District Youth Union to implement a model of planting 1,600 disease-free orange trees. This is a high-value variety of orange with large, thin-skinned fruit, developed and propagated by the Gia Lam Vegetable and Fruit Experimental Research Center - Central Institute of Vegetable and Fruit Research, and is favored by many customers.
According to Mr. Le Dinh Thanh, Head of the Agriculture Department of Thanh Chuong District: “Currently, the area planted with oranges in the district is about 90 hectares, concentrated in Thanh Nho, Thanh Duc, Thanh Thuy… with dozens of orange cultivation models serving the Tet holiday, each model yielding hundreds of millions of VND in profit per year. Besides maintaining and developing the traditional 'cam bu' orange variety, the district has many reasonable policies to help localities expand and develop high-yield, high-quality orange cultivation models. This year's Tet orange harvest has brought more joy and excitement to orange growers in Thanh Chuong district because the oranges are selling at good prices, bringing high economic efficiency.”
Gia Huy
