Ready for the Tet fruit season.

Dong Nai province has a large area dedicated to fruit cultivation. Many key crops, such as pomelo, mango, and dragon fruit, are in high demand during the Lunar New Year. Therefore, at this time, farmers in many fruit-growing regions of the province are busy tending their crops, awaiting the harvest season when prices are at their best.

The specialty pomelo variety with orange-leafed leaves from Tan Trieu ward is ready to supply the market for the Lunar New Year 2026. Photo: Binh Nguyen.

For the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, erratic weather caused crop failures for many fruit trees such as pomelo and mango. However, due to abundant supply and diverse fruit varieties, the market for Tet fruit this year is not expected to experience shortages or price spikes.

Grapefruit and mango crops failed.

Pomelo and mango are two of the main crops grown in Dong Nai province. These are also two of the most popular fruits used by consumers in the traditional five-fruit offering for Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations, as well as in gifts during the Tet holiday. Therefore, orchards in the province usually focus on cultivating pomelo and mango crops for Tet.

Currently, many localities in the province have large areas of pomelo cultivation, such as Hung Thinh, Thanh Son, Binh Loc, Phu Vinh, Tri An, Bao Vinh, Tan Trieu, Tan Phu, Dau Giay, Loc Ninh, and Phu Rieng. The entire province has nearly 11,200 hectares of pomelo orchards with a total annual production of nearly 188,300 tons. Pomelo farmers often focus on investing in the Tet (Lunar New Year) pomelo crop, hoping for a bountiful harvest and good prices.

However, this year's weather has been erratic, causing crop failures in many grapefruit-growing regions, and it is predicted that the supply of grapefruit for the 2026 Lunar New Year market will not be very abundant.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Vuong, Director of Vuong Huong Trading and Service Company Limited (in Tan Trieu ward), said: This year, the rainy season lasted longer and the weather was erratic, causing many orchards to suffer crop failures. The pomelo harvest for Tet (Lunar New Year) is still about a month away, so many orchards currently have no pomelos to sell. It is predicted that the pomelo production for Tet this year will be significantly lower than in previous years.

Crop failure due to erratic weather is also a common situation in mango-growing areas throughout the province. Mangoes are also the province's main crop, with a total area of ​​over 11,700 hectares. Mangoes are grown extensively in the following localities: Phu Ly, Xuan Hoa, Thanh Son, La Nga, Dinh Quan, Loc Ninh, and Bu Dang. Mangoes are an indispensable fruit in the traditional five-fruit offering during Tet (Lunar New Year). Accordingly, many localities in the province focus on cultivating off-season mangoes for harvest during Tet. However, mango farmers are worried about crop failure for the 2026 Tet mango season.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duc is a large-scale mango farmer in La Nga commune, cultivating a variety of mangoes such as Hoa Loc, Thai, Taiwanese, Australian, and three-season varieties. Every year, Mr. Duc prepares his entire 18-hectare farm for harvest during the Lunar New Year because mangoes sell well in both domestic and export markets at this time. This year, however, erratic weather, particularly the prolonged rainy season and frequent unseasonal rains, has significantly impacted the flowering and fruiting of his mango trees. As a result, Mr. Duc only prepared about 10 hectares for the Lunar New Year harvest. Consequently, this year's harvest saw a 70% decrease in his family's off-season mango yield compared to previous years due to crop failure. In particular, specialty varieties like Hoa Loc and Thai mangoes were almost completely lost during the Lunar New Year season.

Expectations for the peak Tet holiday season.

Due to reduced supply, many fruits used for Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations are experiencing early price increases. Currently, mango prices are starting to rise. Specifically, export-quality Taiwanese mangoes are selling for 25-30 thousand VND/kg at the farm gate; three-season mangoes are selling for 8-10 thousand VND/kg, significantly higher than the same period last year. Mr. Duc predicts that many mango growers have lost their entire off-season mango crop, which was expected to be harvested during the 2026 Lunar New Year. Therefore, mango farmers are hoping that this year's high mango prices will compensate for their losses.

For the 2026 Lunar New Year market, many pomelo growers are creating unique and unusual products such as gourd-shaped pomelos and pomelos with calligraphy inscriptions, selling them as gifts for the holiday. These products are usually priced many times higher than regular fruit. However, because these products appeal to a niche market, growers are only producing them in limited quantities.

The Tan Trieu region is famous for its delicious pomelos, with the most renowned being the "sugar-leaf" pomelo variety. Most pomelo growers in Tan Trieu focus on cultivating pomelos for the Lunar New Year because they fetch the highest prices compared to other times of the year. Currently, many growers are concentrating on nurturing and caring for their fruit to ensure a successful harvest for the 2026 Lunar New Year. Due to crop failures, pomelo farmers throughout the province, and particularly in the Tan Trieu region, are hoping for high prices for their pomelos during the Tet holiday.

Although some fruit crops may experience crop failures and reduced yields during the 2026 Lunar New Year harvest season, the supply of fruit for the Tet market is still expected to be abundant. Farmers growing fruits such as dragon fruit, cantaloupe, and bananas are focusing on caring for their plants to harvest the best and most beautiful fruit for the Tet market.

Mr. Truong Hoan Thien, owner of the Nui Cui Agricultural Products Cultivation and Processing Facility (in Gia Kiem commune), said: The facility is currently cultivating over 1 hectare of Buddha's Hand bananas, focusing on harvesting and selling them during the 2026 Lunar New Year. This type of fruit is popular among people for display during Tet, so normally, the price of these bananas at the farm is only 50-55 thousand VND/kg, but during Tet, the price increases to 70-80 thousand VND/kg, resulting in better income for the farmers.

Plains

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202601/san-sang-vu-trai-cay-tet-0940195/