Binh Thuan has an area of 27,000 hectares of dragon fruit with an output of more than 600,000 tonnes/year, ranking the first in the country. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Thuan province informed that local dragon fruit has been exported to more than 20 markets around the world. Out of which, the key area is Asia with nearly 75% of output and nearly 60% of export value.
In particular, Binh Thuan dragon fruit has been granted geographical indication by Department of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Science and Technology). The brand of "Binh Thuan dragon fruit" is protected by European Union (EU). Image and trademark of "Binh Thuan Dragon fruit" is registered and has been agreed to be protected by 13 countries and territories.
Dragon fruit is identified as one of 14 key fruits in the "Project for Developing Key Fruit Trees to 2025 and 2030". For many consecutive years, this product has always been among the top in terms of agricultural export value.
However, according to Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan - Director of Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), value chain of the dragon fruit industry has been facing many challenges when China and India, Mexico has successfully grown this fruit. In 2021, China announced an output of 1.6 million tonnes of dragon fruit/year, higher than Vietnam.
In order for Vietnam's dragon fruit value chain to develop sustainably, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development orients development of dragon fruit industry on basis of promoting potential and advantages of ecological regions, especially in 3 key dragon fruit growing provinces, including Binh Thuan, Long An and Tien Giang. At the same time, improve quality, added value and competitiveness of products; protect ecological environment and adapt to climate change.
Dragon fruit industry therefore needs to reorganize production in direction of cooperation, linking along value chain and overcoming lack of connection between entities in the chain, passive access to export markets and ease of access, to be vulnerable to market and production risks and arrange a synchronous and effective logistics system.
During a period of 2021 - 2023, Binh Thuan is supported by Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and United Nations Development Program in Vietnam (UNDP) to participate in the Project "Promoting private participation in development investment, low carbon emissions and climate change response of the agricultural sector in implementing Vietnam's NDC".
The project focuses on 4 main activities: Promoting development and improving quality of dragon fruit chain links towards low carbon emissions, sustainability and resilience to climate risks; promote and develop brands for dragon fruit products in Binh Thuan province; cooperate in promoting digital transformation in dragon fruit management and production; Call for green finance sources and financial incentive mechanisms to invest in environmentally friendly production and processing technologies with low carbon emissions.
In particular, the project has implemented application of an electronic traceability system at dragon fruit cooperatives and enterprises. From the initial 50 hectares, the province has expanded to 269 hectares that are monitored for carbon emissions. By the end of December 2023, about 23,000 tonnes of dragon fruit were monitored for emissions.
Mr. Doan Anh Dung - Chairman of Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee - said that Binh Thuan wants to produce dragon fruits sustainably and responsibly, thereby helping cooperatives and businesses in area to be eligible to sign contracts linked to sustainable consumption.
To be transparent from production to processing of dragon fruit, Mr. Phan Van Tan - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Thuan province - said that locality has developed a production diary module to track traces of carbon pins for products. Specifically, consumers can scan QR codes to prove quality and environmental responsibility of the end product. This is a creative and breakthrough point in the process of implementing Binh Thuan's commitments on green growth and emission reduction.
Despite having the highest output and area of dragon fruit cultivation in the country, Binh Thuan province admits that production scale of households in the area is still relatively small, the product volume meets standards of demanding market. Besides, post-harvest preservation and connection between people and businesses are not really sustainable.
Based on the results of the project coordinated with UNDP, Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan suggested that localities that grow large dragon fruits continue to mobilize combined resources from the private sector (farmers, cooperatives, businesses), the State and international support, in which the State budget focuses on infrastructure support, science and technology, agricultural extension and policy implementation.
"We need to transform dragon fruit value chain towards improving efficiency, added value, low carbon and sustainability. To do so, we need to integrate and utilize all resources, promote internal resources and create motivation for participation of leading businesses in process of leading and transforming the dragon fruit industry", Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan shared.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn