A pomelo orchard selling green-skinned pomelos earned over one billion VND during Tet (Lunar New Year).
Ho Hoang Kha, 27, from Ba Ria - Vung Tau, has a 5-hectare green pomelo orchard that yielded 50 tons of fruit, bringing in a profit of over one billion VND, even though the price was only 80% of last year's Tet price.
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| Song Xoai commune (Phu My town, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province) has about 120 households growing green pomelos, covering an area of approximately 160 hectares. The pomelos from this area have a sweet and refreshing taste, large and dry segments, making them popular in the market. |
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| Mr. Ho Hoang Kha is considered a model farmer in Song Xoai commune, with his high-tech pomelo cultivation model. Last year, his pomelo orchard brought him an income of over 4 billion VND. "This Tet season alone, I harvested about 50 tons of pomelos. After deducting expenses, I made a profit of over one billion VND," he said. |
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| Workers are harvesting green pomelos in Mr. Kha's orchard a week before the Lunar New Year of the Ox. His orchard has 10 hectares of green pomelo trees aged 3-17 years, bearing fruit year-round. To ensure a timely harvest for Tet, he treated 5 hectares of pomelo trees to induce flowering starting in May. |
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| "Cutting pomelos for Tet (Lunar New Year) requires extreme care and gentleness. The pomelos must still have their stems and leaves intact," said Bé, a worker. Kha employs six people to care for and harvest pomelos year-round. In the days leading up to Tet, he hires an additional 10-15 people. |
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| Ms. Nam (40 years old, wearing a black shirt), who has worked in the orchard for over 4 years, said that to prevent the pomelos from being bruised or having their stems broken off, groups of three people have to pass them down from the tree and carefully load them onto the cart. The pomelos are then transported to the collection point using wheelbarrows. |
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| Workers use cloths moistened with a mixture of white wine and clean water to wipe the grapefruit peels. "This helps clean off dirt and powder, and makes the peels shinier, allowing them to be preserved longer," Ms. Nam said. |
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| Mr. Kha sells green-skinned pomelos with red flesh for 17,000 - 45,000 VND depending on the type. According to the orchard owner, this year's erratic weather has made caring for the pomelo orchard very difficult. The selling price is only 80% of last year's, while the percentage of first-grade pomelos is lower. |
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| The "selected" pomelos, after being cleaned, become smooth and uniform, and are sold to long-time regular customers who buy them as gifts and for display during Tet (Lunar New Year). In addition to vehicles from within the province, many cars from Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, and other provinces also stop by Mr. Kha's orchard to buy pomelos. |
