Xa Doai in Tet orange season

(Baonghean) -Near the Lunar New Year, we had the opportunity to visit the famous orange area of ​​Xa Doai. This year, the selling price of oranges from Xa Doai reached a record high, with some gardeners charging up to 65,000 VND/fruit but the products were still sold out.

As one of the households owning the most beautiful orange garden in the commune, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc in Hamlet 8, Nghi Dien Commune, boasted: "My garden currently has 30 trees for harvest, this year all trees have big and beautiful fruits. Since the beginning of October 2012, there have been customers from Hanoi who have placed orders, but I dare not accept deposits because this year the weather is not favorable, the fruits ripen earlier than usual. Nghi Dien has 13/13 hamlets growing oranges, but only oranges grown in hamlets 8 and 9 have a sweeter flavor, so the price is usually 10,000 VND/fruit higher than oranges grown in other hamlets. At the end of December (DL), the price of oranges jumped to 60,000 VND/fruit, an increase of 10,000 VND/fruit compared to Tet.



Cam Xa Doai has high economic value.

Coming to the house of Mr. Nguyen Duy Hao in Hamlet 9 (owner of a 100-tree orange garden, the largest in the commune), we learned that the price of oranges sold on the morning of December 30 was 65,000 VND/fruit. Mr. Hao said: "Currently, my family has 100 trees, of which 70 are for harvest. Every year, close to the traditional New Year, customers come to buy oranges mainly for gifts and worship... Customers from everywhere take the trouble to come all the way to Doai commune, so they often go to each garden and ask the owner to cut each orange while it is still on the branch to avoid buying the wrong one."

There are two types of Xa Doai oranges: the loquat variety and the gourd variety. The loquat variety has tall fruit with a slightly raised top and a small stem, while the gourd variety has a slightly flat fruit with a concave top. When ripe, Xa Doai oranges have a bright red-yellow color and a mildly sweet, clear taste, not sour.

Mr. Phan Cong Huong - Vice Chairman of Nghi Dien Commune People's Committee, Chairman of the Association of people restoring Xa Doai orange varieties, said: In 1980, Nghi Dien had nearly 60 hectares of oranges, which became a commodity with great economic value and were exported. But up to now, the area of ​​orange cultivation is only over 10 hectares, of which people have just planted 4 hectares and a farm owner has just planted 2 hectares in the field. In 2011, the commune also built a Project to Preserve and Develop Xa Doai oranges and put orange trees in the field to replace rice, with the goal of having 50 hectares of oranges by 2015. And, according to the new rural planning, the commune has a policy to convert 100 hectares of 2-rice land to grow oranges to plan into a concentrated production area. However, this project is difficult to implement because there are no specific policies, mechanisms, and incentives, so orange growers do not dare to invest. Currently, in the whole commune, only my family has invested in planting 150 trees. This year, the first crop has already bloomed. Only in 2014 will my family have a harvest...

Ngoc Anh