Hung Yen longan costs more than 100,000 VND/kg

Bad harvest, good price

Known as the capital of Hung Yen longan, the entire Hong Nam commune (Hung Yen city) has more than 150 hectares of area cultivating this tree.

This year, although many localities in the province suffered crop failures, Hong Nam commune's longan still produced a large yield. In particular, the specialty rock sugar longan attracted more customers.

Longan bunches for the king - famous specialty in Hung Yen. Photo: Tien Do

With a longan growing area of nearly 2 hectares (7,200m2), Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, owner of Tuan Tuyet garden in the VietGAP standard longan production and consumption area of Hong Nam commune, Hung Yen city, shared that this year's output is lower than last year but the price is higher. Tuan Tuyet garden mainly grows 3 types of longan: Huong Chi longan, Tien Vua longan and rock sugar longan.

“Huong Chi longan has the largest growing area in the garden. This is also a mass-produced variety with prices ranging from 30,000-45,000 VND/kg. In addition, there is the Tien Vua longan variety with a selling price of nearly 100,000 VND/kg. In particular, the old-stem longan with rock sugar has a price of up to nearly 110,000-120,000 VND/kg, which can be up to 200,000-250,000 VND/kg during peak periods due to limited quantity.

With the characteristics of thin skin, thick flesh, water-free, sweet and fragrant, the old longan varieties have a selling price many times higher than normal longan and are especially favored by the market. This old longan variety with rock sugar pulp is ordered by traders and customers as soon as it is ripe" - the garden owner shared.

At this time, garden owners in Hung Yen almost "eat and sleep on the spot" to harvest and export longan to other places. Photo: Tran Huong

Ms. Tran Thi Toa - a fruit stall owner with 15 years of experience at Pho Cao market (Phu Cu, Hung Yen) said: "This year, the longan crop is bad, more expensive than last year. The stall mainly sells T6 longan, super sweet, and Huong Chi.

These longan varieties are sweet, fragrant, with thick, crunchy flesh. Last year the price fluctuated around 25,000-30,000 VND/kg. This year it has increased to 45,000-50,000 VND/kg. Every day, customers order several hundred kilograms, while retail sales at the market are around a few dozen kilograms.

Speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, Mr. Bui Quang Dat - Vice Chairman of Hong Nam Commune People's Committee (Hung Yen city) said that Hong Nam commune has the largest longan growing area in Hung Yen province.

"Last year, the commune produced about 3,500 tons of longan. It is estimated that this year's harvest will be less, about 2,000 tons. However, considering the general crop failure situation, Hong Nam commune still has a high yield compared to other places. The whole commune mainly cultivates 3 types of longan: Tien Vua longan, Huong Chi longan and rock sugar longan. Domestic consumption is still the main output of Hong Nam commune's longan" - Mr. Bui Quang Dat said.

Because the supply has not met the market demand, longan with rock sugar is mainly used as gifts, using fresh fruit with eye-catching, sophisticated packaging, bearing the characteristics of Hung Yen longan.

Combine experiential travel

In addition to harvesting longan to sell to traders in other provinces, many gardeners in Hung Yen also develop experiential tourism. This experiential activity contributes to bringing Hung Yen longan closer to domestic and foreign consumers.

Visitors from many other places, including foreign visitors, come to Hung Yen to experience this activity during the longan ripening season. The garden opens its doors for visitors to admire the longan gardens full of fruit and to personally choose the best bunches of longan. The two areas of Hung Yen city and Khoai Chau have successfully built this model, contributing to promoting the Hung Yen longan brand further.

Currently, Hung Yen province has about 5,000 hectares of longan; of which, about 1,700 hectares produce longan according to VietGAP process, accounting for about 34% of the province's longan area.

In Hung Yen city alone, there are more than 500 hectares of longan grown according to VietGAP standards; of which, nearly 10 hectares of longan in Hung Yen city have been upgraded from VietGAP process to organic farming. In addition, Hung Yen city also has more than 10 longan growing locations that have been granted OTAS growing area codes.

Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/nhan-hung-yen-gia-hon-100000-dongkg-1387335.ldo