A farmer in Soc Trang Province successfully propagated the new type of longan after accidentally discovering a longan with purple peel.

Tran Van Huy and the purple longan tree

Tran Van Huy, the owner of Ke Sach Garden in Phong Nam Commune, said even though he still hadn't have any young plant for sale yet, many people had ordered seedlings. He said, "Thai traders did ask to buy the seedling three to four years ago. But I refused so they haven't been back since."

The purple longan has appeared in recent years but attracted lots of attention in the Mekong Delta Region. The fruits are five times more expensive than other local fruits but they are also rare.

According to Huy, he accidentally found a purple longan branch among hundreds of longan trees in his 3,000-square-metre garden more than 15 years ago. The whole branch, up to the leaves, had a purple tint and the peel colour was as dark as the grapes.

"It looked so strange that I decided to plant it," he said. "It grew well so I cut off some twigs to plant around the house. We have about a hundred trees now. When I brought the fruits to a festival in 2012, I had a lot of attention."

Purple longans in the Mekong Delta

Since then, he has brought the fruits to every festival. Huy harvests 400-500kg annually and sell every kilo for VND100,000 (USD4).

Hua Van Hen, a local in Phong Nam Commune, said, "We were surprised when we saw the strange longans. The fruits still have the usual shape and taste, the flesh and seed colours are also the same but the peel and the leaf colour are purple so many customers like it."

According to Huy, it's difficult to grow the purple longan trees from the seed and fruits from grafting method do not taste good so he often grows trees from branches but the success rate is low. In return, the purple trees create good profits and do not need much fertiliser or pesticide.

Many farmers expressed the desire to switch to the purple longans for more profits. However, the local authorities advised against mass cultivation of this tree as the market for the purple longans is still uncertain.

Dtinews