Hanoi (VNA) - Representativesof farming co-ops and the Cultivation and Plant Protection Division under the BenTre Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have discussedmeasures for sustainable development of green-skin pomelos and rambutans in the province at a seminar.

Ben Tre has more than 5,600ha underrambutan, mainly in the districts of Cho Lach and Chau Thanh. A fifth of thetotal area grows the fruit, and produces more than 107,000 tonnes a year.

Three rambutan processing firms have beenset up in the province in the past few years, and recently Ben Tre rambutanwere exported to China, the United States and Europe.

But the Chau Thanh-headquartered TropicalFruit Export Ltd. is the only firm to sign a contract to buy the fruit, thepartner being a local co-operative.

Son Dinh Commune in Cho Lach district hasone farming co-operative and 17 co-operative teams growing the fruit over500ha, but they have signed no agreements to sell their output.

According to Ly Tan Phuong, chairman of theSon Dinh Commune Farmers’ Association, it is difficult to sign sales contractsfor Son Dinh rambutan because of price volatility. The prices vary from 5,000 –6,000 VND per kilogramme at harvest time to 20,000-30,000 VND in other seasons.

Nguyen Thi Hong Thu, director of the ChanhThu rambutan export company, said no long-term contracts had been signedbetween farmers and buyers because prices changed greatly and the fruit couldnot be preserved for long.

With 27,700ha of fruit orchards, Ben Tregrows many iconic fruits of the Mekong Delta, including the green-skin pomelo.

It has over 7,200ha under this fruit,mainly in Ben Tre city and the districts of Chau Thanh, Giong Trom and Mo CayBac, and produces 57,000 tonnes a year. But only 35.4ha of orchards grow thefruit for export.

Dam Van Hung, head of Huong Mien Tay Co. Ltd.,said the export of the famous Ben Tre green skin pomelo faced challengesbecause the small scale of production led to inconsistent quality.

Lam Van Linh, deputy head of the Ben TreCultivation and Plant Protection Division, said green skin pomelo and rambutanwere mainly consumed in the domestic market and their exports faced challengesdue to buyers’ stringent requirements.

Green skin pomelo and rambutan are mainlyconsumed as fresh fruit with only a small proportion of pomelos being used tomake juices, jams, wines and other kinds of foods. This is why their value hasnot been fully exploited yet, Linh said.

Hung said, “Collaboration (between growersand buyers) is a necessary condition for rambutan production and consumption.”

The huge demand for rambutan in the localmarket has not been met, he said.

Huong Mien Tay has signed contracts to buynearly 1,238 tonnes of green skin pomelo a year on 277ha in Ben Tre province.

It plans to establish a quality managementteam to help co-operatives develop a production process and quality standardsto meet market needs.

It will sign purchase contracts withgrowers at market prices while demanding that they ensure clean standards andsteady output.           

The province’s cultivation and plantprotection division has co-ordinated with district authorities and other relevantagencies to establish green skin pomelo and rambutan co-operatives. In Ben Tre,there are now 109 co-operatives growing pomelo and 42 growing rambutans.

Sixteen contracts have been signed byprocessors to buy the pomelos, but farmers growing 13,500 tonnes of the fruiton nearly 500ha have yet to sign up.

Not a single contract has been signed withrambutan farmers, Hung said.

According to Phan Thi Thu Suong, deputydirector of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, only a fewcontracts have been signed between Ben Tre farmers and firms due to the smallscale of farms and the inconsistent quality of the fruit.

Next year the department will ask the BenTre People’s Committee to estimate market demand for fruit and draw upproduction plans. - VNA