Awakening the tourism potential of Phuc Trach grapefruit region

To prepare for a "livestream" session introducing products of CHOA Agricultural Cooperative, the young couple Tran Xuan Loat - Nguyen Huyen An (in Phuc Trach commune) prepared articles and products to sell online...

Since the early days of the cooperative's establishment (March 2021), they have not been afraid of the harsh accent and awkward way of speaking to bring the cooperative's products as well as their hometown gifts to diners...

Mr. Tran Xuan Loat shared: "The cooperative has made efforts to promote and sell products on the internet. In recent times, the cooperative has expanded its space and scale, but the number of visitors who know about the cooperative to visit and experience is not much."

Young couple Tran Xuan Loat - Nguyen Huyen An try to promote their products on social networks.

According to statistics, the whole Phuc Trach commune has nearly 500 hectares of grapefruit, of which the harvested area is up to 470 hectares. Grapefruit has become the main crop of this locality, bringing a large economic benefit to hundreds of households here every year. Phu Le, Ngoc Boi, Kim Son, Trung Linh, Bac Linh, Tan Huong, Tan Dua, Tan Thanh villages are the areas with the largest grapefruit growing areas. Households here grow and care for grapefruit systematically, thanks to which the grapefruit has a beautiful appearance, delicious quality, and is favored by consumers.

Mr. Cao Viet Thao (Phuc Trach commune) shared his experience after 10 years of growing grapefruit: "To have bright, beautiful grapefruit, we have to take very good care from the beginning to harvest."

In order to exploit the tourism advantages of grapefruit gardens, in recent years, the local government and people have always paid attention to promoting and integrating images of their homeland to promote their own strengths, especially during the grapefruit flowering and ripening seasons. In particular, since 2020, when Phuc Trach grapefruit was recognized as one of 39 geographical indications of Vietnam, protected by the EU under the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union, the application of technology in production as well as introducing and promoting products through online channels to make it easier for tourists to know about Phuc Trach grapefruit has been of interest. However, the number of visitors coming to experience it is still not much.

Mr. Phan Chien Thang - Deputy Head of the Department of Culture - Society, People's Committee of Phuc Trach commune said: "Consumption as well as development of Phuc Trach grapefruit on commercial floors and markets is very difficult. We hope that through commercial floors and social networks, Phuc Trach grapefruit will spread to everyone about this typical product".

Grapefruit garden of Mr. Cao Viet Thao, Phuc Trach commune, Ha Tinh province

After the merger, the whole Phuc Trach commune has 4 cooperatives producing VietGap grapefruit and 2 enterprises specializing in purchasing grapefruit. In addition, the local government has been directing mass organizations to strengthen connections and consume products for the people. However, for many years, grapefruit here still has a situation of good harvest but low price or vice versa. The important issue now is to find a feasible solution to promote and exploit the unique strengths of grapefruit gardens, because not every place has this potential and advantage like Phuc Trach.

Mr. Phan Quoc Thanh - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuc Trach Commune, Ha Tinh Province said: "In the coming time, we will review, supplement and adjust the planning for concentrated grapefruit planting in the commune, along with upgrading the infrastructure of information technology and internet transmission so that agriculture is not only a product but also a direction for sustainable tourism development."

Grapefruit gardens are preparing for harvest season.

Not only in Phuc Trach commune but also in many other localities, most of the tourism products are still small and unsystematic... so tourists also have many difficulties in searching. In addition, the shelves of distribution systems such as supermarkets and clean food stores are not yet available. In particular, currently, there are not many businesses researching, surveying and completing procedures for exporting Phuc Trach grapefruit.

The issuance of geographical indication stamps for Phuc Trach grapefruit products is very necessary. To contribute to bringing Phuc Trach grapefruit to a large number of domestic and international consumers, it is necessary to have synchronous solutions and related factors, creating momentum for the locality to maximize the economic advantages of grapefruit gardens, associated with experiential activities, a type of tourism that attracts visitors from near and far every time they have the opportunity to come to this land.