VietNamNet Bridge - Many exporters do not have enough dragonfruit to sell as the fruit grown in the central province of Binh Thuan is being sold for low prices because of its poor quality.

Dragonfruit is sold for VND3,000 ($0.15) per kilo on the sidewalk in Saigon.

HCM City-based Hugo Company, a veteran dragonfruit exporter to the United States, could not purchase a single kilo of quality dragonfruit for export last month.

Picky markets such as America and Japan have high demand for quality dragonfruit from Vietnam.

China, the largest importer of Vietnamese dragonfruit, however, has said mealy-bugs have been found on Vietnamese dragonfruit.

The firm’s director, Vuong Dinh Khoat, said the demand from the American market is around 60-80 tons per month, but last month Hugo did not export any dragonfruit because he could not buy quality fruit.

Only a handful of dragonfruit orchards are eligible to export to the United States.

The Tam Vu dragon cooperative in Chau Thanh district in the Mekong Delta province of Long An still has quality dragonfruit for export but its head Truong Quang An says that the volume is small and unstable. During the harvest season, the cooperative bought 40-50 tons/day but sometimes it can purchase only several tons a day.

"This year diseases are rampant, so only about 30 percent of our output is eligible for export. Thus we have to cancel a lot of orders," An says.

Similarly, HCM City-based Hong An Import and Export Co., Ltd. also had to cancel many dragonfruit export orders to an Asian country due to lack of quality fruits, although they signed contracts at very high prices.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Dat, Director of the Quarantine Center of Imported Vegetation, says that all companies exporting dragonfruit to picky markets like the US and Japan lack sources of supply. They have to frequently increase the purchase price.

Poor harvest season

For the last month, the price for dragonfruit in Binh Thuan province has dropped significantly. Low quality fruits are being thrown along the road.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Hiep, vice chair of Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association, said: "Quality dragonfruits for export are in severe shortage. Even local businesses have to struggle to have enough good fruits for export."

At the same time, low-quality fruits are priced only VND200-300/kg ($0.01-0.05) but no one wants to buy them so they are piled up along the road.

Hiep said this year local farmers have a very bad dragonfruit season because of diseases, particularly the white spot disease.

"Most gardens are infected with this disease and most infected fruits are ineligible for export because of the ugly peel, although the quality is unaffected," Hieu says.

Hiep says that relevant bodies should offer scientific and technical support and funding to help get rid of the disease.

Luong Ngoc Trung Lap, head of the Market Research Division of the Southern Institute for Fruit Research, in the first half of this year, said that Vietnam’s dragonfruit exports reached $150 million, an increase of nearly 60% compared to the same period in 2013. Up to 90% were exported to China.

"The demand from the Chinese market has not decreased but in fact keeps increasing and it is worrying, given that China is also growing dragonfruit. So if we only depend on this market, Vietnamese dragonfruit growers will be affected sooner or later," said Lap.

However, the diversification of export markets is not a simple task. Dang Van Hoang, head of the Vegetation Quarantine Bureau of Region II, said the Plant Protection Agency had promoted export of dragonfruits. Vietnamese dragonfruits have been sold to 30 countries and will be exported to India in the near future.

Poor quality dragonfruit thrown along the road in Binh Thuan, Tien Giang provinces

In the central province of Binh Thuan and the southern province of Tien Giang, dragonfruit are being dumped along the road and in gardens. The fruits have failed to meet export standards while domestic demand for dragonfruits is low.

Growers say that previously they could sell similar fruits at the price of VND1,000-VND2,000 ($0.05-$0.1)/kg but now the price is only VND300-VND500 ($0.15-$0.25)/kg.

They also say that their products could not be exported to China because they do not meet quality standards (the weight must be regular – 3 fruits/1kg; the peel must be fresh and the color must be pink, not green or dark pink).

The vice chair of Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association, Tran Ngoc Hiep, said the dumped fruits account for nearly one percent of the output. Recently, the Ministry of Transport has tightened control over overloaded trucks and this is also a reason for this phenomenon as a volume of fruits have become rotten due to slow transportation.

Hiep said recently China has tightened dragonfruit import regulations which has affected Vietnamese dragonfruit. He emphasized that this phenomenon is only temporary, which mostly occurs in the rainy season.

Currently, quality dragonfruits are still being exported to the Chinese market at the high prices of VND10,000-VND12,000 per kilo.

In Tien Giang province, the price for red flesh dragon fruits is very low, VND3,000-VND4,000 ($0.15-$0.2) per kilo.

Mr. Huynh Hong Ung, Chair of Cho Gao Dragon Fruit Cooperative in Tien Giang, said local farmers had suffered big losses because of diseases affecting the plants.

Ung said Vietnamese farmers have not used proper technology to grow dragonfruit.

Dr. Vo Mai, former President of the Vietnam Fruit Association, said Vietnamese fruit is too dependent on the Chinese market.

She said the Association is trying to find new markets for Vietnam fruit. However, this is not an overnight task and it needs state support.