Building a leading export-oriented pomelo growing region

Dong Nai possesses all the favorable conditions needed to become one of Vietnam’s leading high-quality fruit-growing regions, particularly for pomelos. Its advantages in soil conditions, climate, concentrated cultivation areas, and an increasingly modern transportation network provide a strong foundation for developing large-scale fruit-growing regions capable of meeting demanding market standards.

Vietnam has recently signed export protocols that have officially opened the Chinese market to fresh pomelos, creating new opportunities to expand exports to potential destinations such as the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. This development has created significant opportunities for Vietnam’s pomelo industry. Accordingly, Dong Nai enjoys considerable advantages in establishing standardized pomelo-growing regions with consistent quality, large and stable output, and the capacity to serve both domestic and export markets simultaneously.

Large-scale specialized pomelo-growing areas

With nearly 11,000 hectares under cultivation, Dong Nai is among the largest pomelo-producing regions in southern Vietnam. The city also benefits from favorable soil conditions and concentrated growing areas, particularly for green-skin pomelos, the city’s main export variety, which accounts for as much as 86% of the local pomelo acreage. Localities across the city have developed 18 OCOP (One Commune One Product) products derived from pomelos. Notably, the Tan Trieu pomelo brand, which has enjoyed geographical indication protection since 2012, has become a symbol of Dong Nai agriculture and earned a strong reputation in both domestic and international markets.

Enterprises visit and survey pomelo-growing areas in Tan Trieu ward.

Tran Thi Minh Ha, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Agribusiness Club, remarked that Dong Nai possesses all the necessary conditions to become a major center for high-quality fruit production, particularly pomelos. We highly value the innovative thinking of local leaders, from municipal agencies and specialized departments to grassroots authorities. At the same time, we recognize the dynamism, adaptability, and willingness to learn demonstrated by local farmers. For that reason, the club selected Dong Nai to implement the “six-party linkage model” involving management agencies, scientists, farmers, cooperatives, businesses, and distribution-finance partners. Together with its partners, the club is working to establish standardized pomelo production zones in Dong Nai that offer consistent quality, large-scale, stable output, and sufficient capacity to serve both premium domestic markets and export destinations.

According to Le Thi Anh Tuyet, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Department of Agriculture and Environment (DoAE), the recently signed export protocols between Vietnam and China have opened the door for Vietnamese pomelos to enter one of the world’s largest consumer markets. This endeavor is a favorable opportunity for Dong Nai to reinforce its position as one of Vietnam’s key pomelo-producing regions. Accordingly, the future development of Dong Nai’s pomelo industry will involve a transition from a purely agricultural production mindset to an agricultural economics approach. Localities with strengths in pomelo cultivation will focus on developing concentrated raw-material areas, expanding production that meets VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, improving cooperative performance, and strengthening the issuance and management of growing-area and packing-house codes. In addition, the agricultural sector will prioritize attracting investment in deep processing, post-harvest preservation, e-commerce development, and official export promotion for pomelos.

Turning challenges into opportunities

The DoAE recently coordinated with the Vietnam Agribusiness Club to organize a conference on building Dong Nai City’s pomelo value chain linked to domestic and export trade promotion. The conference focused on introducing regulations and requirements for export-oriented growing areas and packing facilities, including plant quarantine standards, pest management, traceability systems, safe cultivation practices, quality control procedures, and the role of supply-chain coordination and product distribution.

Nguyen Dinh Muoi, Deputy General Director of Vina T&T Import-Export Trading Services Co., Ltd. in Ho Chi Minh City, said the company had visited Dong Nai and surveyed several pomelo-growing regions. The company plans to cooperate with local farmers to establish cooperatives and sign purchasing agreements for pomelos destined for export markets.

“We hope to become the first enterprise to export a shipment of Dong Nai pomelos. Based on our surveys, Dong Nai pomelos have tremendous potential. Once the fruit meets required standards in terms of quality, appearance, and presentation, it will be highly competitive in export markets,” he said.

According to Le Viet Binh, Deputy Chief of the Southern Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, China’s market has now officially opened to Vietnamese pomelos. Dong Nai has taken a proactive approach by organizing programs that enable exporters to visit pomelo-growing regions and establish export supply chains, helping the industry develop in a modern, sustainable direction.

Muoi emphasized that producing pomelos for export requires consistency throughout the production process. Farmers must work together because export markets cannot accept situations in which households use different cultivation methods or pesticides. In the supply chain, farmers are the most important link. Only when they produce fruit that meets export standards can enterprises successfully sell products abroad. Farmers need to shift from a traditional agricultural mindset to an agricultural economics mindset and move from individual production practices toward strict supply-chain discipline. Building an integrated supply chain is the most effective way to access premium markets.

He also called on authorities to strengthen support for production standards and supply chain oversight. “Exporting to high-end markets is not an impossible dream. However, there is no room for arbitrary production practices, lack of discipline, or chemical residues. Farmers must strictly comply with safety standards and production protocols,” he said.

Highlighting major opportunities in the domestic market, representatives of MM Mega Market Vietnam’s Dong Nai branch said the supermarket chain currently consumes about 1,000 tons of assorted fruit each month. The retailer has surveyed many fruit-growing areas and hopes to buy products in large volumes for sale in the domestic market and for export. However, major customers such as restaurants and hotels prefer pomelos that have already been peeled. Accordingly, businesses must shift to supplying peeled pomelos to these customers if pomelo consumption is to increase significantly. More consumer-promotion programs are also needed to boost pomelo sales volume.

By B.Nguyet – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho