In addition to strong industrial development, Long An province is also home to a large growing area of seedless lime from Vietnam. In recent years, seedless lime trees have brought high value and profits to local farmers. To increase competitiveness, the province has developed a lime production area using high technology. This kind of fresh lime is to increase the number of exports to the European market.
Ben Luc is the district with the largest area of seedless lime cultivation in Long An province. The district has more than 6,500 hectares of seedless lime trees. In which, nealy 90% of lime here have been exported to the Middle East countries. Lime cultivation is popular in the communes, such as Thanh Hoa, Thanh Loi, Luong Hoa, Luong Binh, Binh Duc. In recent years, seedless lime has brought high and quite stable profits to farmers.
Seedless lime from Vietnam
“Prices vary from year to year and quality and productivity also depend on the age of the seedless lime trees. However, on average, one hectare of lime trees yields a profit of nearly 100 million VND per year. Thanks to lime growing, many growers have become rich and built big houses,” said a grower in Thanh Hoa commune.
To increase the quality and productivity, farmers have applied the high technology on the seedless lime cultivation. After three years of implementation, the district has 1,200 hectares of high-technology seedless lime. The harvested seedless lime is eligible for export to the European market.
Green lime from Vietnam
Ben Luc identified developing high-tech agriculture on seedless lime trees as an inevitable direction. There are more than 200 hectares of high-tech lime area in the whole district. Accordingly, the district coordinated with the Department of Science and Technology to register geographical indications for Ben Luc lime. In addition, the district required fresh lime packing houses to ensure export conditions and integration into the world market.
Over time, it has been shown that the orientations of seedless lime exporting companies are clear in building their brands. For many years, they have directly instructed farmers on cultivation techniques and changing traditional production methods. The high-tech cultivation areas have applied Global Gap, which are eligible for seedless lime from Vietnam export to the European market. The purchasing price of high-tech lime is higher than outside by 5,000 VND per kilogram.
Green lime box from Vietnam
In addition, the export of seedless lime from Vietnam still faces some difficulties. That is, the market for purchasing high-tech lime has not expanded much every year. Also, there has not been a long – term contract between the buyer and the producer. Climate change, drought, salinity, and water shortage have significantly affected production. For example, in 2020, prolonged drought and salinity caused damage, affecting nearly 2,000 hectares.
Moreover, there are currently not many businesses investing in seedless lime growing areas to contract consumption and processing. Accordingly, most of them sell fresh fruit, with low adding value. Most of the cooperatives are not operating effectively due to lack of capital and production direction.
Vietnamese sources: https://baolongan.vn/dua-chanh-ben-luc-xuat-ngoai-sang-thi-truong-chau-au-a112804.html