After months of meticulous care, many mandarin orange orchards are now beginning to ripen, preparing for the peak harvest season to supply the market for the Lunar New Year of the Horse in 2026.
Mr. Phan Van Sang's 1.5-hectare pink tangerine orchard (Hoa Long commune, Dong Thap province) is expected to yield more than 17 tons of fruit.
Pink tangerines are primarily grown in Lai Vung, Hoa Long, and Phong Hoa communes (formerly Lai Vung district) covering an area of over 220 hectares. Currently, in the tangerine orchards, the fruit is beginning to ripen, changing from green to orange-yellow. According to many farmers, pink tangerines are a crop that requires advanced cultivation techniques; from inducing flowering to harvesting takes nearly 11 months. Each year, pink tangerines only bear fruit once, usually harvested around the Lunar New Year.
During its heyday, Dong Thap province had over 1,000 hectares of mandarin orange orchards, but yellow leaf disease and root rot have severely damaged fruit-bearing orchards, reducing the area planted with this specialty crop. Previously, the People's Committee of the former Lai Vung district implemented a project to conserve mandarin orange orchards. For about five years now, some orchard owners have been applying organic mandarin orange production standards, supplementing with many traditional organic fertilizers and reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Therefore, the recovery of some orchards shows promising signs.
These pink tangerines are waiting to be harvested.
Mr. Doan Anh Kiet, from Hoa Long commune (Dong Thap province), has 25 years of experience growing pink tangerines in his 5,000 m2 orchard. Mr. Kiet said that thanks to organic farming practices in recent years, his pink tangerine orchard is thriving and less susceptible to pests and diseases. However, in September and October (lunar calendar), high tides combined with heavy rains, resulting in excess water and high humidity, caused some tangerines to fall off. Because the trees don't bear too many fruits, the quality is currently quite good, with large, glossy, and beautifully colored tangerines. Preliminary estimates suggest his pink tangerine yield is 1.5 - 2 tons per 1,000 m2.
According to Mr. Doan Anh Kiet, to succeed in growing pink tangerines, one must have a passion for the profession, master the techniques, possess cultivation experience, and have strong financial resources to invest. The cost of producing pink tangerines is quite high; on average, cultivating 1,000 square meters requires an investment of 30-40 million VND per crop. Mr. Kiet hopes that this year's tangerine harvest will fetch a price of 50,000 VND/kg from traders at the farm, thus ensuring profitability.
Similarly to Mr. Kiet, after 5 years of switching to organic farming practices, the 1.5-hectare mandarin orange orchard of Mr. Phan Van Sang's family in Hoa Long commune is now thriving, producing large, beautifully colored, and juicy fruits. He estimates that this year, the orchard will yield over 17 tons of fruit, with grade 1 mandarins (weighing 4-5 fruits per kilogram) accounting for about 60%.
Grade 1 pink tangerines (weighing 4-5 fruits per kilogram) are priced at 80,000 VND per kilogram.
To increase the economic value of mandarin oranges and contribute to promoting the local image, in recent years, Mr. Sang and several other orchard owners have been offering tours of the orchards combined with selling mandarins to tourists. According to Mr. Sang, some of the mandarins in the orchard have ripened, so he harvests them gradually to sell retail to customers. Unlike the traditional method of harvesting all the mandarins at once and selling them all to traders, in recent years he has been selling retail to tourists and promoting sales through social media platforms.
According to Mr. Sang, e-commerce has greatly assisted him in selling his pink tangerines. After confirming a customer's order, he harvests the tangerines according to the requested quantity, packs them in boxes, and ships them to the customer. Currently, he sells Grade 1 pink tangerines (4-5 tangerines per kilogram) for 80,000 VND/kg; and Grade 2 tangerines (6-7 tangerines per kilogram) for 70,000 VND/kg. These lower-grade tangerines are often purchased by customers as gifts.
According to Ms. To Thi Kim Thanh, Chairwoman of the Hoa Long Commune People's Committee, one of the commune's agricultural strengths is fruit trees, with hundreds of hectares dedicated to growing mandarin oranges. The commune's agricultural economic development is oriented towards green, circular, and modern practices.
In the coming period, the commune will focus on promoting science, technology, and digital transformation in agricultural production, including mandarin orange cultivation; creating conditions for businesses and cooperatives to participate in the mandarin orange consumption chain. Along with that, the locality will diversify products from mandarin oranges such as mandarin orange wine, mandarin orange jam, mandarin orange essential oil, etc., and continue to improve the quality of mandarin orange orchard tours, combining them with traditional craft villages to enhance economic value.
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/quyt-hong-lai-vung-vao-mua-tet-nha-vuon-ky-vong-gia-cao-20260212172936129.htm
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