Pomelos have good prices but poor harvests.

Pomelo prices are high but output is low, gardeners' profits are lower than last year.

Even though it is the peak harvest season and prices are high, this year, many pomelo growers in Binh Minh City are not happy because the pomelo crop is bad and the yield is low.

According to many gardeners in Binh Minh town, pomelo is a perennial fruit tree, has a rather slow growth rate, and a long harvest time. Grafted trees will bear fruit after 3-4 years of planting, while trees grown from seeds will take up to 10 years to bear fruit .

Previously, most gardeners grew pomelos extensively, without investing in fertilizers or pesticides, mainly flowering and fruiting naturally. Pomelos have a light aroma and are popular for their cool, sweet and sour taste. There are many types of pomelos on the market today, but they are mainly divided into two flavors: sweet and sour.

The tree usually flowers in November every year, and bears fruit after 1 week. Accordingly, pomelos begin to be harvested before Tet and last until the end of April, the main season usually falls in February of the lunar calendar .

Although there is only one harvest per year, thanks to the long harvest time and relatively high price, pomelo trees have brought a stable economic source, contributing to improving people's lives. Currently, the whole of Binh Minh town has more than 15 hectares of pomelo trees, the most in Dong Thanh commune.

However, unlike previous years, many gardeners in Binh Minh City said that this year, due to the impact of the weather, pomelo productivity has decreased. Accordingly, pomelos purchased at the garden cost 40,000-65,000 VND/kg, and at retail points from 95,000-130,000 VND/kg, an increase of 20,000-25,000 VND/kg compared to the same period.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ut (Dong Thanh commune, Binh Minh town) said: "This year, pomelos have a bad harvest. They flower but do not bear fruit. Or if they do bear fruit, they are small and fall before they are ripe."

Mr. Huynh Van Cap - Director of Dong Thanh Sweet Pomelo Seedling Production and Consumption Cooperative (Binh Minh Town) said: Previously, people mainly grew sour pomelos, but in recent years, the area of sweet pomelos has gradually expanded, bringing higher income. However, this year, both sour and sweet pomelos have few fruits, and productivity has decreased significantly, with some gardens having a 70-80% reduction, causing crop failure.

According to Mr. Cap, the reason for the large decrease in pomelo yield is due to hot weather from the beginning of the season and late cold weather, causing pomelo trees to flower late, so the fruit set rate is very low, producing small fruit, and unripe fruit falling all over the garden.

“From the beginning of the season, I saw that the fruiting ability of sweet pomelos was low, only intermittent, so I researched how to handle the off-season. Accordingly, this main pomelo crop, my garden did not have much fruit and mainly harvested around mid-April, which was late in the main season. But the predicted yield is not as good as every year,” Mr. Cap added.

According to Mr. Cap, in recent times, with the desire to expand and develop the sweet pomelo variety, the locality and relevant agencies have implemented a project to support people with seedlings, while at the same time promoting people to renovate old gardens, increase care to expand the area, increase productivity to develop into a specialty raw material area for the locality.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai - Vice Chairman of Dong Thanh Commune People's Committee, said: The total output of sour pomelos in 2023 is about 30 tons, down 80% compared to the previous year. The locality will coordinate with relevant units and scientists to guide gardeners on planting techniques to increase productivity, helping pomelo trees grow better.

According to the Economic Department of Binh Minh Town, recently, realizing the potential of pomelo trees, the department has supported the building of a sweet pomelo brand, protecting the rights of seedlings, collective trademarks, and developing them into local OCOP products.

In the long term, the department will continue to support training, transfer of science and technology and preserve pomelo varieties, coordinate research and development of pomelo processed products to increase the value of this crop, bringing stable income to local people. At the same time, encourage people to grow in a safe, organic and branded way to increase competitiveness in the market.

Source