Elevating specialty grapefruit

As one of the famous specialties of Phu Tho, grapefruit has long been a key crop, helping many households in the province escape poverty and become well-off. To develop grapefruit sustainably, in parallel with improving product quality, the agricultural sector has focused on deep processing, diversifying grapefruit products to increase economic value, opening up new directions, and elevating Phu Tho specialties.

The image of Phu Tho specialty grapefruit is widely promoted in many forms.

In the period of 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030, the agricultural sector has synchronously implemented many solutions to develop grapefruit trees in a concentrated direction, improving productivity and quality. The grapefruit growing area of Phu Tho province (before the merger) increased from 2,308 hectares in 2015 to 5,593 hectares by the end of 2023, exceeding the target set for 2025.

Along with the increase in area, the province has formed 161 concentrated grapefruit production areas, showing a clear shift from small-scale to large-scale production.

To achieve the above results, the planning of concentrated production areas has been focused. The whole province has 162 establishments with 1,742 hectares of grapefruit that have been granted growing area codes, of which 18 are for export; nearly 980 hectares of grapefruit have achieved VietGAP certification. This not only helps trace the origin of the product but also opens up opportunities to bring Phu Tho grapefruit to the international market.

The promotion of application and transfer of scientific and technological advances into production has brought about positive changes in productivity and quality. Advanced production processes such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP, and organic are encouraged to be applied, increasing product value and protecting the environment.

The area of specialty grapefruit cultivation has more than doubled compared to 2015.

Realizing the importance of brand building and product consumption, Phu Tho has gradually oriented and supported grapefruit regions to build brands through the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program. The whole province has 10 cooperatives and grapefruit production facilities that have achieved OCOP certification with a registered output of over 15,000 tons/year. Trade promotion and market development have also received special attention from the province, many major events such as the Doan Hung grapefruit festival have been successfully organized.

In addition, the application of information technology, promoting e-commerce and digital commerce in the agricultural sector has brought practical results. Millions of traceability stamps have been supported, grapefruit product information has been posted on the province's e-commerce platforms and other platforms, attracting millions of visits.

Grapefruit is a crop that brings high economic value, helping many households become well-off.

At the same time, the expansion of grapefruit processing models is being focused on, creating a new source of income for people. In addition to the main product of grapefruit, all parts of the grapefruit tree are fully utilized. Grapefruit peel is extracted to obtain essential oil, a high-value product in the cosmetics and health care industry, or dried to make snacks.

Grapefruit pulp is processed into traditional grapefruit tea and delicious grapefruit jam. Grapefruit seeds contain a lot of pectin, which can be extracted to create natural skin care gel. Even young grapefruit and poor quality grapefruit are not wasted, but are used to produce grapefruit wine, a new product with great potential.

People pick grapefruit flowers from young trees that have not yet produced fruit.

It is known that currently some production facilities and cooperatives processing grapefruit products purchase fresh grapefruit pulp at 50-60 thousand VND/1kg, fresh grapefruit flowers at 150 thousand VND/1kg fresh, grapefruit seeds (depending on the time) at about 50-150 thousand VND/1kg. After processing, dried grapefruit pulp is sold at 480-550 thousand VND/1kg depending on the type; grapefruit essential oil costs about 5 million VND/1 liter; grapefruit flower essential oil costs 1.5 million VND/10 ml bottle.

Processing grapefruit products does not need to be located in the growing area but can be expanded to neighboring areas, making it easier to reach consumers, while bringing higher income to farmers. This is an effective direction, not only helping to maximize the use of raw materials but also expanding the market, bringing higher economic value and contributing to affirming the position of Phu Tho grapefruit.

Ingredients are prepared to cook grapefruit tea.

As one of the leading cooperatives in implementing the model of processing products from Doan Hung specialty grapefruit, Bang Luan Grapefruit and General Service Cooperative currently produces and consumes a number of products such as: Distilled grapefruit essential oil (peel oil, seed oil); grapefruit jam, grapefruit pulp as raw material for cooking tea... The products are currently widely consumed in traditional markets and on e-commerce platforms.

Currently, the cooperative has 50 members and is associated with many grapefruit growing households in communes in and outside the province to consume products. The average income of cooperative workers is about 6 million VND/month. According to Mr. Nguyen Tuan Oanh - Director of the cooperative, in order to sign contracts with large enterprises, it is necessary to meet high requirements on quality, commit to standards and regularly send samples for pesticide residue testing. Mr. Oanh emphasized: "We believe that, along with quality, ensuring food safety is also a factor to create trust with partners and aim for long-term contracts, bringing sustainable economic efficiency".

With synchronous solutions from promoting intensive grapefruit production, brand management and development, to expanding product processing models, Phu Tho grapefruit is not only a specialty fruit, but also a diverse product with high economic value, affirming its solid position in the market.

Hoang Giang

Source: https://baophutho.vn/nang-tam-buoi-dac-san-237654.htm