About the star anise land of Lang Son

Star anise is a specialty with high economic value of Lang Son, mainly serving export. Star anise is widely used in the fields of medicine, flavoring, cuisine and handicrafts... with a wide domestic and international consumption market.

IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY

In recent times, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has focused on directing the promotion of star anise development, in which the province has set a goal of developing and maintaining a stable star anise area for harvest until 2030 of about 35,000 hectares and implementing solutions to care for, improve productivity and product quality for 24,000 hectares. At the same time, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has coordinated with relevant agencies to gradually establish a source of high-tech seed, such as: Star anise propagation by grafting, tissue culture, etc.

Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Lang Son province Nguyen Huu Chien said: The locality encourages plant variety production facilities to upgrade research, develop technical processes for cultivation, and intensively cultivate star anise towards improving productivity and quality, and guide farmers to implement them in a "hands-on" manner. In addition, the province has implemented international cooperation in improving cultivation and processing skills; proposed and implemented many scientific research topics to improve old, low-yield star anise forests, and developed intensive cultivation processes for high productivity and quality, meeting export standards.

Many star anise growing models according to organic standards to improve the productivity and quality of star anise products are being implemented in the districts of Chi Lang, Binh Gia, Van Quan with a total area of 705 hectares. Notably, many farming households have proactively applied new technical processes in production, such as: land preparation, seed selection, organic fertilizer application, application of reasonable irrigation regime, pruning, pest control with safe products... Thanks to that, productivity has increased by 15-20%, plants grow well and are less susceptible to pests and diseases.

Mr. Linh Van Quyen, Tay B village, Yen Phuc commune, Van Quan district shared: “My family is taking care of 5 hectares of star anise trees that are 3-30 years old. With the guidance of the district's Department of Agriculture and Environment, every year I clear, prune branches and supplement nutrients for the trees. The star anise garden is less susceptible to pests and diseases, productivity and quality have increased, helping to stabilize the family income.”

EXPAND EXPORT MARKET

Thanks to the province's policies and mechanisms to support the development of star anise, many domestic and foreign companies have come to order and purchase star anise in large quantities. The star anise market is increasingly thriving, affirming its domestic and international brand. From a situation of good harvest but low price with the price of dried star anise only a few tens of thousands of VND/kg, from 2022 to now, the price of dried star anise has increased to 130,000 - 150,000 VND/kg.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province has established two chains linking star anise and star anise products with a scale of more than 1,000 hectares in Chi Lang and Trang Dinh districts. The linked units are Vietnam Cinnamon and Star Anise Company Limited (Vinasamex), Lang Son Forestry Products Processing and Import-Export Company Limited (Aforex); Lang Son Agricultural and Forestry Products Processing and Export Company. These companies purchase more than 3,000 tons of fresh star anise per year for processing and export. The formation of the chain has increased product value, stabilized output, increased competitiveness and aimed at building a sustainable consumption market.

Thanks to the application of legal procedures, improving productivity and quality, star anise products of Lang Son province have met the strict regulations of demanding markets with hundreds of regulations from cultivation, harvesting to processing and preservation. Thanks to that, star anise products no longer depend on the traditional Chinese market, but have reached out to the world, helping to stabilize output and increase product prices. From 2020 to now, the price of fresh star anise has increased, ranging from 30,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, the price of dried star anise has reached 100,000 - 150,000 VND/kg; the estimated value is 1,700 billion VND/year. Star anise products of Lang Son are present in many countries such as: India, Malaysia, Indonesia, UK, USA, France, Japan, Germany...

Director of Lang Son Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Dinh Dai said: Lang Son star anise products have been granted a certificate of protection for the Geographical Indication "Star anise and star anise essential oil of Lang Son" by the Department of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology since 2007 and have been recognized as one of the top 10 best natural specialties of Vietnam. Notably, from 2020 to present, Lang Son star anise is one of 39 geographical indications of Vietnam recognized and protected in the European Union (EU).

In the coming time, Lang Son province has identified star anise as one of the province's key forestry crops, helping people improve their lives, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty. The province is gradually making efforts to increase the value of products, aiming at the goal of sustainable development of this specialty plant, contributing to affirming the brand of Lang Son star anise in the international market.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/ve-mien-hoa-hoi-xu-lang-post876926.html