With advantageous land and unique climate conditions, Tra Vinh stretches endlessly with green coconut groves.
Tra Vinh University has implemented its strategy to upgrade the coconut industry value chain, with many businesses and cooperatives partnering with farmers to grow coconuts meeting VietGAP, GlobalGAP, and organic standards. These partnerships combine investments in new technology and deep processing of coconut products to create high added value.
For many years, Tra Vinh University has conducted scientific research and selected high-yield, high-quality coconut varieties that adapt to climate change, serving the province’s socio-economic development requirements. The university has successfully implemented coconut propagation methods using embryo culture techniques. Typically, households growing coconuts using natural wax coconut varieties achieve only 25-30% wax fruit rates. When farmers choose embryo-cultured wax coconut varieties, the wax fruit rate reaches 85% or higher. Beyond improving wax quality, embryo-cultured wax coconuts also adapt well to climate change and maintain stable wax quality.
Tra Vinh University has collaborated on research projects for coconut propagation using cell tissue culture technology and intensive cultivation techniques for tissue-cultured coconut varieties. The results successfully established a process for wax coconut propagation through cell tissue culture methods. After three years of experimental planting, tissue-cultured wax coconut trees show good growth, adapt well to Tra Vinh’s soil and climate conditions, and produce wax fruits with thick flesh and good quality.
Farmer Dang Minh Be from Binh La hamlet, Luong Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district, expresses excitement about choosing embryo-cultured wax coconut varieties for planting on rice land, providing his family with stable annual economic income. Mr. Be’s 3-hectare embryo-cultured wax coconut garden has over 450 fruit-bearing trees, harvesting thousands of thick-fleshed wax coconuts monthly, selling at 80,000-120,000 VND per fruit. According to Mr. Be, embryo-cultured wax coconut varieties have high market prices of 600,000-800,000 VND per tree. His family plans to rent more land, expand planting areas, and invest in machinery and equipment to produce wax coconut cakes and candies.
According to Ngo Huu Su, Director of Van Hung Agricultural Cooperative in Binh Phu commune, Cang Long district, the cooperative has partnered with over 400 households practicing European organic standard coconut cultivation across more than 300 hectares to meet domestic and export market demands. All partner households participate in technical training courses on coconut cultivation, care, variety selection, and proper harvesting timing to ensure water and coconut meat quality. The cooperative also implements output purchase contracts with members and partner households at minimum prices of 60,000 VND per dozen, purchasing coconuts at prices 5,000-10,000 VND higher per dozen than market rates.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province currently has 27,390 hectares of coconuts, ranking second nationwide. The fruit-bearing coconut area covers 23,600 hectares with an average yield of 17.14 tons per hectare. This includes 5,276 hectares of organic-standard coconuts produced by 8 companies and cooperatives in partnership arrangements.
Implementing the coconut value chain upgrade strategy, Tra Vinh’s coconut fruit market has become vibrant in production, processing, and export. Over the past 20 years, small industrial craft village establishments in Duc My commune, Cang Long district, have bustled with coconut fiber industries, clean soil production, and coconut fiber mat manufacturing. Many craft village production facilities produce organic fertilizers using coconut coir, probiotics, and chemicals as main raw materials to increase soil fertility.
Tra Vinh wax coconuts feature thick coconut water, thick, soft, chewy flesh with aromatic flavor, used for processing ice cream, cakes, candies, and beverages. Cau Ke Wax Coconut Processing Company Ltd. in Thanh Phu commune, Cau Ke district, processes and launches vacuum-packed wax coconuts, wax coconut candies, wax coconut threads, and crispy dried wax coconuts. The crispy dried wax coconut represents a freeze-dried product that preserves the complete flavor and nutrition of fresh wax coconuts. The company’s products have been exported to markets in the US, UK, China, Japan, and serve the domestic market.
Tra Bac Joint Stock Company General Director Huynh Khac Nhu (Ward 4, Tra Vinh City) states that coconut fruit processing products are very diverse with high economic value. Coconut shells process into activated carbon, dried coconut meat serves food processing, and coconut water processes into coconut jelly and coconut candy. Implementing coconut fruit product diversification policies, the company produces main products including dried coconut meat, frozen coconut cream, clean BBQ charcoal, and anthracite coal for export.
According to Tra Vinh Provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman Nguyen Quynh Thien, coconuts represent the province’s main crop with high export value. The province urgently implements and completes the coconut industry development plan until 2030, with orientation toward 2050. Tra Vinh University continues implementing phase 2 of the wax coconut propagation process using cell tissue culture methods, selecting high-yield, high-quality coconut varieties that adapt to climate change, while strengthening promotional activities and inviting businesses to build deep processing plants for coconut fruit products, creating sustainable livelihoods for local people.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/phong-phu-cac-san-pham-tu-dua-post883036.html
