Ninh Thuan grapes need to increase both area and output to develop the market

Add new value to grapes

On June 16, Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper to organize a workshop on developing the value of grapes and products from grapes in Ninh Thuan province.

Mr. Dang Kim Cuong, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ninh Thuan province, said that the locality has suitable climatic and soil conditions to grow vines, and this is a local specific crop, famous throughout the country with the name "Ninh Thuan Grapes".

Although the area of grapes accounts for only 3-3.5% of the total planted area, the annual production value of this plant reaches 19-20% of the total production value of the crop industry. Each year, the province provides the market with about 28 thousand tons of fresh grapes.

According to Mr. Dang Kim Cuong, Ninh Thuan grapes are a crop of high economic value, bringing a great source of income for farmers. Recently, the application of technical advances and the introduction of high technology into production has helped to increase its value. On average, each hectare of grapes can reach VND 1.2-2.1 billion/crop, equivalent to VND 2.6 - 4.4 billion/ha/year.

Currently, on the basis of potential, Ninh Thuan's agricultural industry has completed planning a safe grape production area with a scale of 2.5 thousand hectares. In which Ninh Phuoc district accounts for 1.7 thousand hectares, other localities such as Ninh Son, Ninh Hai, Thuan Nam, and Phan Rang - Thap Cham have an area from 140 ha to 250 ha.

According to Ninh Thuan's agricultural industry, developing grape models has brought a great source of income for households, businesses, and cooperatives. Many new economic models from vines are interested, invested in, and implemented.

Sharing at the seminar, a representative of Hoang Yen Farm (Phan Rang City - Thap Cham, Ninh Thuan) said that the unit is implementing a traditional production model associated with tourism development. This is a model with high economic efficiency. The unit has previously researched and brought new grape varieties into production, combining modern development methods to improve value.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Lien, Development Director of Yergat Food Co., Ltd (Thuan An town, Binh Duong), said that the company is currently developing a model of grape leaves with a total area of 5ha. For this product line, the company produces, processes, and exports food to the Middle East, USA, Canada, and France.

"Every year, the company exports 4 tons of leaves through these markets, and the demand is very high. The company is buying raw leaves from people at VND 100,000/kg. Currently, farmers building a model of grapes for leaves have an income of VND 1.2 to 1.4 billion/ha/year", Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Lien added that businesses need links and expand models in Ninh Thuan and other localities in the region.

Solution group for Ninh Thuan grapes

At the seminar, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep raised the issue: Ninh Thuan is known as a dry area with only sunshine and wind, which is a big challenge. However, now sunshine is gold, and the wind is silver, which is an opportunity for local development. For the agricultural sector, it has found an opportunity under challenging conditions. The wind and sunshine have created Ninh Thuan's agricultural products with high productivity and quality, making a difference.

Previously, Ninh Thuan was an arid land, but it has gradually escaped the drought in recent years. For vine development, Ninh Thuan needs to increase both area and output.

“In which, the first thing is to increase the area and output. If the output is small, it will only be enough for promotion, not enough for goods," said Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep.

Mr. Le Huyen, Vice Chairman of Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee, said that over the years, Ninh Thuan had had mechanisms and policies to develop agriculture, including vines. The province aims to export grapes and grape products and has advised the Provincial People's Council to issue policies to develop hi-tech agriculture.

“Vine value is increasing. Grape varieties are increasing. Currently, 134 OCOP products are in the province, and 36 are related to grapes. Along with the development of traditional grapes, the locality can build production models associated with tourism, form a model of ornamental grapes", Mr. Le Huyen said and added that currently the biggest challenge of the locality. The method of grape development is reducing acreage, and new grape varieties with high yields are still limited. In addition, the expansion of the hi-tech area is limited, and the preliminary processing, processing, and preservation field is still narrow.

According to the Nha Ho Institute of Cotton Research and Agricultural Development (located in Ninh Thuan), grapes are identified as the main crop in the crop structure of Ninh Thuan, creating various products that are both eaten fresh and raw materials for wine processing and drying, has advantages, high economic value. However, in recent years, the development of grape production in Ninh Thuan has not been stable.

At the seminar, Dr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (MARD), also agreed with the views of the delegates and experts on the potential and advantages of grape development in Ninh Thuan.

He also commented that Ninh Thuan needs to determine the technology to apply to develop vines shortly. Along with that, the development of leaf grape products is also a new, high-value direction that can be exploited locally.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep emphasized that there should be specific solutions for developing vines in Ninh Thuan. In particular, the first is to create the area—the local needs to renovate the old and mixed gardens to switch to vines.

The second is to apply production processes to ensure food quality and safety and to apply commercial criteria.

The third is the issue of varieties. This is an essential factor, which needs to be strictly managed, and needs to have seed copyright to meet the export market.

Along with the three solutions mentioned above, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep also raised more solutions for interest, developing the leading domestic market and then expanding solutions for linking in production.