Dragon fruit price is highest since the beginning of the year, Binh Thuan gardeners proactively improve the quality of growing areas

Dragon fruit prices have peaked since the beginning of the year due to scarce supply

In recent days, the price of white-fleshed dragon fruit in Binh Thuan province has been continuously increased by traders to collect products to meet the export demand to foreign markets.

Mr. Nguyen Tanh, a dragon fruit farmer in village 5, Ham Liem commune (Ham Thuan Bac district), said that currently the price of dragon fruit purchased at the garden has increased to about 25 thousand VND/kg. This is the highest price since the beginning of the year and has been maintained for about 4-5 days now.

Previously, the purchased price of dragon fruit ranged from 17 – 18 thousand VND/kg, then inched up from 20 – 22 thousand VND/kg. Because supply is scarce, while consumption demand remains stable.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tanh, with the current price of dragon fruit, harvesting farmers will make a big profit of 10-15 thousand VND/kg after deducting costs. However, there are currently few gardens with ripe dragon fruit because this is the end of the season. Furthermore, people have focused on making dragon fruit lanterns before, during and after Tet, so the output of the generations after the lanterns has also decreased.

“Normally, if dragon fruit grows in front of the headlights and produces a lot of fruit, then in the phase after the lights, the yield will be low and vice versa,” Mr. Nguyen Tanh said, adding that his family has 350 pillars of ripening dragon fruit, expected to In 1 week, it will be harvested with a yield of about 4 tons. Therefore, he hopes that dragon fruit prices in the coming time will continue to remain high for a bumper harvest.

Mr. Huynh Canh, Chairman of Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association, confirmed that the current price of dragon fruit purchased by warehouses ranges from 20 – 25 thousand VND/kg (depending on the garden).

Regarding the reason why dragon fruit prices are currently high, according to Mr. Huynh Canh, it is because the Chinese market is consuming stably. At this time in China there is almost no dragon fruit harvested so it is not “flooded to the market”.

“Currently, Binh Thuan dragon fruits are still in stock, not scarce, because the purchasing warehouses of businesses are still open and packed normally. In the near future, the Chinese market will have red-fleshed dragon fruit. However, due to the early season, the selling price will be very high, so Vietnamese dragon fruit consumption will still be stable. Moreover, now the heat is intense everywhere, so there is little fruit. Therefore, I think that in the coming time, dragon fruit prices will still be maintained at a high and stable level,” Mr. Huynh Canh predicted.

Promoting dragon fruit’s advantages from quality

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Thuan, the whole province currently has 26,500 hectares of dragon fruit, down nearly 1,150 hectares compared to the same period in 2023. In the first months of 2024, the demand for domestic and export fruit is large, so dragon fruit prices are stable, There are times when it increases, so people harvest profitably. However, in March 2024, many households continued to light the lights in the off-season, but the weather was extremely hot and windy, so the ability to flower was not achieved, leading to low harvest productivity.

Faced with the current complicated weather developments, Binh Thuan’s agricultural sector recommends that farmers not develop more areas, increase field hygiene, apply balanced fertilizers and focus on destroying disease sources to minimize disease. brown spots on dragon fruit. Localities focus on directing and guiding people to produce GAP dragon fruit, focusing on product quality.

Mr. Do Van Bao, Director of the Binh Thuan Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, said that in order to export dragon fruits to the Chinese market sustainably and stably, production and business households need to comply with regulatory requirements. Regulations on management and use of growing area codes and packinghouse facility codes of the General Administration of Customs of China. Along with that, deploy measures to manage pests and diseases in gardens and harmful organisms subject to plant quarantine in the Chinese market.

Also according to Mr. Do Van Bao, the development orientation of Binh Thuan dragon fruit is to stabilize the existing area, not develop additional area; At the same time, focus on in-depth development, be proactive in implementing requirements for good agricultural production practices, and gradually improve product quality to expand consumption markets./.