Billions in profit thanks to 'rich man's' plum trees

Soc Trang A farmer in Cu Lao Dung earns more than 1 billion VND per year, thanks to growing the MST pink plum variety with large, crunchy, sweet and low-juice fruit.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nhut (47 years old) from An Thanh 1 commune, Cu Lao Dung district ( Soc Trang province) is a pioneer in successfully growing MST pink plums, bringing in billions of dong in revenue each year.

Before dedicating himself to this plum variety, Mr. Nhựt had 15 years of experience growing red-fleshed dragon fruit. However, the increasingly uncertain market forced him to seek a new direction.

By growing MST pink plums, Mr. Nguyen Van Nhut earns a profit of over 1 billion VND per year. Photo: Kim Anh.

Four years ago, after a chance encounter with MST pink plums, Mr. Nhut realized the exceptional potential of this variety due to its large, crisp, sweet, fragrant, and low-water content fruit. Utilizing the existing irrigation ditch system, he cut down the dragon fruit trees, improved the soil, and invested in planting 150 MST pink plum trees on a 3,000m2 plot.

According to Mr. Nhut, the MST pink plum variety requires more advanced cultivation techniques compared to other plum varieties. For the trees to thrive, growers must raise the raised beds to prevent waterlogging of the roots. Furthermore, controlling the number of fruits is crucial; too many fruits overwhelm the tree's ability to nourish them, resulting in smaller, lower-quality fruit.

In addition, he invested 100 million VND in building a greenhouse system, which significantly reduced damage from fruit flies in his plum orchard and saved 30-40% on pesticides.

Inside the greenhouse, he designed two irrigation systems: a drip irrigation system for when the plants need a lot of water, and an automatic drip irrigation system at the base of the plants to support fertilization. This combination helps the plants grow healthily and produce high-quality fruit.

MST pink plums can bear fruit all year round. Photo: Kim Anh.

Another crucial step is netting and fruit selection. If not done promptly, the fruit is prone to cracking, waterlogging, and quality degradation. These technical requirements demand meticulous attention to detail from the growers at each stage.

"The fruit is about the size of a fingertip, and as soon as the tendrils fall off, it must be covered immediately. If the technique isn't done correctly, the fruit is easily damaged by fruit flies," Nhựt shared.

MST pink plums bear fruit year-round, but are concentrated in two main seasons. On average, it takes about 105 days from flowering to harvest. Each plum tree yields approximately 100kg of fruit per year, with the weight of grade 1 fruit being 6-7 fruits per kilogram (equivalent to about 130g per fruit).

Currently, traders are buying MST pink plums directly from the orchards at prices ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 VND/kg, and the retail price can reach up to 120,000 VND/kg. During the purchasing process, traders use sugar content meters; if the sugar content is above 11%, they will accept the goods.

Each MST pink plum tree can yield approximately 100kg of fruit per year. Photo: Kim Anh.

In 2024, his plum orchard yielded 16 tons, and after deducting expenses, he earned a profit of over 1 billion VND, not including income from selling seedlings. Since the beginning of this year alone, Mr. Nhựt has sold 1,000 seedlings and is preparing for an order of up to 5,000.

Mr. Nhut currently supplies MST pink plums to markets in the province and some high-end fruit stores in Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho City, and Tra Vinh . However, due to limited cultivation scale, MST pink plums still cannot meet the demand from traders and businesses.

The entire Cu Lao Dung district currently has over 50 hectares of MST pink plum trees. Mr. Nguyen Van Dac, Head of the Agriculture and Environment Department of Cu Lao Dung district, believes that MST pink plums are currently the most economically valuable agricultural product in the locality.

MST pink plums have maintained stable prices over the years due to insufficient supply to meet demand. Photo: Kim Anh.

In Dai An 1 commune alone, the MST pink plum variety has been certified as a 3-star OCOP product. The Thong Minh Agricultural Cooperative (Dai An 1 commune) is currently carrying out procedures to have this variety recognized as a leading variety in the district. In addition, some plum growers are also planning to develop experiential tourism models within their MST pink plum orchards.

"Currently, there are businesses that have partnered to export MST pink plums to the EU, Taiwan (China), and the Middle East," said Mr. Nguyen Van Dac, Head of the Agriculture and Environment Department of Cu Lao Dung district.

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/lai-tien-ty-nho-cay-man-nha-giau-d743186.html