Story of Vietnam Dragon Fruit 

Dragon fruit which is also called Pitahaya is of the cactus group and originates in the deserts of Mexico and Colombia. Dragon Fruit was planted in Vietnam over 100 years ago by a Frenchman. In the beginning of 1980s, Dragon Fruit was just a wild plan seen at hedges and garden corners with no special interest of farmers since they just considered it as a decorative tree in Thuan Bac district – Binh Thuan province, Cho Gao district – Tien Giang province and in Chau Thanh district – Long An province.
Many people in Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Long An made known that when they saw Dragon Fruit with ripen fruits, they brought the fruits to the market and they were sold out. Many people at the market like its shape and its beauty look when presented on the ancestral altar and its delicious taste. It was also a great offer to friends and relatives. Since then, some households have started their experimentally planting the Dragon Fruit tree. In 1985, people in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces began to plant Dragon Fruit but in a small scale. Up to the year of 1990, Dragon Fruit became people’s favorite as it was strongly consumed thus its production area was expanded. However, it was just a product of internal consumption, not a product for export.


In 1993, Vietnam Government worked out a guideline of distributing extensive agricultural land to farmers and that of integration for an exchange of international economy and trade. Since then, Dragon Fruit has got its important position at the markets in and out of the country. With the local authority’s encouragement and investment support of seeds, technologies and its brand name’s popularization, the model of Dragon Fruit planting is more and more developed in many localities including Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Long An provinces.
In Binh Thuan provinces and the Southern area, Dragon Fruit has its crop duration from April to Oct, profusely from May to August. The Dragon Fruit tree often bears fruit in the summer as the weather become hotter and the photosynthesis is stronger. The price, however, is lower then. In previous year, Dragon Fruit couldn’t bear fruit on Tet Holiday. Then a farmer at Ham My commune Ham Thuan district – Binh Thuan province kept lighting the Dragon Fruit tree at night in the wrong season for its blossom. Since then, many household have applied this to get a good crop and the product of Dragon Fruit for Tet goods. Some advanced gardeners have gradually improved the techniques of lighting Dragon Fruit trees at the wrong season and improved its economic effectiveness. At present, many farmers are investing 3 or 4 voltage batteries worth billions VND for lighting thousands of dragon fruit posts.
Up to now, the Dragon Fruit tree have been planted in many localities of Binh Thuan provinces and 29 other provinces in Vietnam. Many farms and cooperatives have got more than 36.000 ha of dragon fruit with its production of more than 1 million tons every year. The production of Dragon Fruit has enabled many people to become millionaire and billionaire. Binh Thuan province has planned on growing 26.000 ha of Dragon Fruit trees up to the year 2015 with its production of more than 500.000 tons per year.
At present, thousands of households of farmers, farmhouses and cooperatives in Binh Thuan, Long An, Tien Giang provinces and other areas are launching the fresh Dragon Fruit production of VietGap standards regulated by Vietnam Ministry of agriculture and rural development which is for a stable Dragon Fruit tree development and new markets expansion. Vietnam dragon fruit has been export to more than 30 countries including US, Europe, Japan markets. For the past years the most exported markets of Dragon Fruit have been China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and some Southeast Asia countries. Among them, the Dragon Fruit exported to China market on the border trading has been the most export.

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