Pocket more than 1 billion VND per year from… noni tree

Converting shrimp farming land to noni tree growing

Mr. Chuong’s noni garden is over 5 hectares wide. Looking at the healthy, green, fruit-laden trees… many people do not expect this wild plant to become a “money-making” tree, helping his family have a stable life.

Mr. Chuong harvests noni to make noni juice. PHOTO: DUY TAN

Graduated from the Information Technology Department of the University of Natural Sciences , Ho Chi Minh City National University in 2004, Mr. Chuong applied for a job at a telecommunications company in Ho Chi Minh City with a fairly high income.

In 2018, his father fell seriously ill, and he temporarily put his work aside to return home to take care of him. At that time, a friend gave him a bottle of noni juice from the US. After researching, he found that the product was popular in the market because it helped treat high blood pressure, constipation, headaches, insomnia, etc., so he planned to start a business with noni juice products.

From the money accumulated after many years of working, he invested about 1 billion VND in converting 5 hectares of shrimp farming land of his family to grow more than 100,000 noni trees. At first, the trees were not suitable for the land and died a lot. At that time, Mr. Chuong's wife was still working in Ho Chi Minh City to earn an income to support the family's economy . Thanks to persistent research on suitable planting methods, after more than 1 year, the noni garden gave the first fruits and gradually harvested year-round, providing a stable source of raw materials.

About 3 - 4 kg of fresh noni for 1 liter of pure noni juice. PHOTO: DUY TAN

Mr. Chuong cooperates with gardeners neighboring areas to grow in large quantities, creating income for people. In 2020, the couple established a company, investing in modern machinery and production lines.

"In reality, not only in my locality but also in most provinces and cities in the West, the value of noni fruit has not been fully exploited. Most people only use it to soak in wine to treat aches and pains. A few noni growers provide raw materials to traders, but the value is not high and the output is unstable," said Mr. Chuong.

Opportunity to bring products to international markets

At Mr. Chuong's facility, juice is made from noni fruit. Freshly harvested from clean raw material areas, cultivated according to organic agricultural standards. Only noni fruits that are 80% or more ripe are selected as raw materials.

Noni juice is consumed through 30 agents nationwide and e-commerce platforms. PHOTO: DUY TAN

The noni fruit that meets the standards is washed, dried and then incubated for 12 months. Then it is put into a machine to separate the liquid and seeds, then mixed according to the product lines. About 3 - 4 kg of fresh noni will produce 1 liter of pure noni juice. "To satisfy customers' taste, in addition to pure noni juice, I also make noni juice with a little rock sugar for customers who like a sweet aftertaste," said Mr. Chuong.

Currently, Mr. Chuong divides noni juice products into two lines: high-end and basic, consumed through 30 agents nationwide and e-commerce platforms. His facility makes 4 bottled formats, selling thousands of bottles/year at prices ranging from 180,000 - 380,000 VND/bottle, thereby making a profit. over 1 billion dong