Dragon fruits fly record high in Binh Thuan: 1,000 tons a day

The central province of Binh Thuan is exporting a daily average of 1,000 tons of dragon fruits right before Tet, or the Lunar New Year beginning next week, a record high compared to its normal shipments.

According to chairman of the Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association Bui Dang Hung, wholesalers now buy the white-flesh fruit at VND13,000-14,000 per kilogram, at which farmers can profit at least VND7,000 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the pink-flesh variety is bought at a much higher price of VND34,000 per kilo but there is not enough for export at the moment, he added.

Binh Thuan is Vietnam’s dragon fruit orchard with around 12,300 ha, of which 13,000 ha is dedicated to white-flesh dragon fruits and 30 ha to pink-flesh species.

South Korea and Chile have recently started to import the fruits subject to heat-treatment and necessary registration, giving a further impetus to the already rapidly-growing exports.

Vietnam is now in talks with Australia and New Zealand to export its fruit to those markets.

The country sells most of its dragon fruit crops to neighboring China, but exports to other Asian nations, the US, and Europe have been picking up.

Tags: Dragon fruits