Sustainable production sought for dragon fruit as China raises import standards
Proper zoning and more investment for processing are among the measures needed to develop sustainable production of dragon fruit in the country, experts have said.
Binh Thuan (VNS/VNA) — Proper zoningand more investment for processing are among the measures needed to developsustainable production of dragon fruit in the country, experts have said.
Last year, the country exported more than 1.1billion USD of dragon fruit, accounting for about 30 per cent of the country’stotal fruit and vegetable export value, according to the Vietnam FarmersAssociation.
Speaking at a recent seminar in the south-centralprovince of Binh Thuan, Nguyen Xuan Đinh, deputy chairman of the association,said that China had begun cultivating dragon fruit and was raising standardsfor dragon fruit imports.
China is currently the main market forVietnamese dragon fruit.
Binh Thuan and the Mekong Delta province of Long An and TienGiang top the country in dragon fruit growing area.
Binh Thuan, the country’s largest dragon fruitproducer, has nearly 30,000ha of dragon fruit. Of the figure, nearly 10,000haare planted under Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standardsand more than 260ha under GlobalGAP standards.
However, the country’s dragon fruit productionis largely unsustainable since many farms are small-scale and there is a lackof co-operation among stakeholders and seedling management.
Most dragon fruit growing areas are scatteredand few of them use advanced farming techniques. In addition, the quality ofseedlings has not been managed properly.
Evaluation of growing areas also needs to bedone to identify the variety of dragon fruit suited to each area.
Mai Thanh Phung of the HCM City-based TropicalAgricultural Research and Consultancy Center said that localities should set upzoned growing areas and improve management to ensure sustainability.
Farmers should also establish co-operatives andwork together to reach quality standards, and involve other stakeholders sothat buyers and outlets can be guaranteed.
More trade promotions and favourable conditions forinvestment in dried dragon fruit and dragon fruit wine are needed as well.
Up to 80 per cent of the country’s dragon fruitis sold fresh and unprocessed.
The country produces an annual output of 660,000tonnes of dragon fruit. /.
Vietnam should develop quality varieties and improve cultivation techniques if the country wishes to bolster shipments of dragon fruits, experts said at a seminar held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Embassy of New Zealand in Vietnam on June 5.
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Dragon fruit for export (Photo: VNA) 
