With nearly 135,000 hectares of fruit trees, an output exceeding 2.5 million tons/year, alongside numerous large-scale specialized cultivation zones, Dong Thap possesses distinct advantages to develop its fruit industry along value chains. However, to transform output advantages into added value, the province is concentrating on standardizing raw material zones, elevating growing area code quality, boosting linkages among enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers, while developing processing and export capabilities.

Standardizing raw material zones

In recent years, alongside agricultural restructuring processes, Dong Thap has established numerous large-scale specialized fruit tree cultivation zones tied to ecological advantages and market demands; within which durian, jackfruit, mango, dragon fruit, coconut, pineapple, and citrus groups represent highly potential commodity sectors.

According to the provincial agricultural sector, fruit tree cultivation area currently reaches over 134,900 hectares, with output exceeding 2.5 million tons/year. Durian alone occupies approximately 32,100 hectares with an output of 556,916 tons; jackfruit covers about 25,685 hectares with an output of 437,433 tons. Large-scale raw material zones create conditions for Dong Thap to organize concentrated commercial production, satisfying the demands of processing and exporting enterprises. However, large outputs also place higher requirements on quality, origin traceability, residue control, post-harvest preservation, and market regulation.

In the Dong Thap Muoi region, pineapple is becoming a key crop, contributing to elevating local incomes with approximately 15,000 hectares of specialized pineapple cultivation yielding nearly 260,000 tons annually. Alongside production reorganization, cooperatives and collaborative groups are formed as bridges connecting farmers with enterprises.

Mr. Bui Ke Binh, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Tan Phuoc 1 Commune, shared: Pineapple serves as the locality's key crop with an area of around 7,400 hectares. Thanks to applying off-season flower-inducing techniques, farmers can harvest and supply products to the market year-round. The locality is constructing growing area codes for pineapple trees, with over 1,700 hectares expected to receive codes by late 2026. This serves as a vital condition to expand markets and elevate product value.

Far from pineapple alone, other fruit commodity sectors are also step-by-step shifting to standard-compliant production tied to market demands. Mr. Tran Trung Quy, Director of Hung Thinh Phat Cooperative (Tan Thuan Binh Commune), shared: The cooperative is applying VietGAP-compliant red-flesh dragon fruit production workflows across a raw material zone of about 115 hectares. The cooperative's dragon fruit products have achieved 4-Star OCOP certification (One Commune One Product Program) and are exported to markets like the US, Japan, and South Korea. Monthly, the cooperative exports approximately 300 tons of dragon fruit. Currently, 100% of the cooperative's production area has been granted growing area codes; products are primary-processed and packaged at code-granted facilities, guaranteeing origin traceability capacities.

According to Mr. Le Minh Khanh, Vice Chairman of the Dong Thap Provincial Cooperative Alliance, production linkages tied to value-chain consumption represent an inevitable and sustainable direction, helping elevate agricultural product value, diminish market risks, and raise farmer incomes. Within which, cooperatives play a bridging role, aggregating smallholder farming households to form concentrated raw material zones of sufficient scale to connect with enterprises and major markets.

To date, the entire province maintains 273 agricultural cooperatives linking with enterprises through contracts, comprising 168 cooperatives linking production with product consumption, 101 cooperatives linking output sales, and 4 cooperatives linking input service provisions. However, these represent model cases, while the majority of the province's fruit tree area still requires continued standardization.

According to the latest statistics, the entire province maintains 3,553 granted export-serving growing area codes across 1,601 growing zones, covering 148,996.63 hectares; within which 3,486 codes across 1,537 growing zones have been approved by importing nations. Additionally, 67 codes across 64 growing zones are awaiting importing nation approval.

For the domestic market, the province has issued 1,868 cultivation-sector growing area codes, covering 185,952.45 hectares. Regarding export packaging facilities, 504 codes have been approved by importing nations, and 132 inspected codes are awaiting approval.

Possessing a large quantity of growing area codes serves as an advantage, but the current challenge lies in maintaining quality and guaranteeing full compliance conditions post-issuance. Growing area codes represent not merely export entry conditions, but also drive producers to alter farming practices, transparentize origins, and elevate accountability toward product quality.

Sustainable value chain

Vice Chairman of the Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Phuoc Thien stated that the province is aggressively promoting digital transformation in agriculture, applying digital technology in linkages between enterprises and farmers; constructing growing area code plans for fruit trees alongside standardized raw material zone development plans.

Dong Thap is also boosting technology applications and transparentizing growing area code management to limit violations, while concurrently resolving issues facing several export commodity sectors—such as Cadmium-contaminated durian—thereby advancing toward sustainable development of key fruit commodity chains.

According to Director of the Dong Thap Department of Agriculture and Environment Le Ha Luan, in the upcoming period, the province will continue capitalizing on existing fruit tree area advantages, concentrating on developing key crops possessing good market demand, step-by-step establishing raw material zones tied to origin traceability. The province encourages reasonable off-season harvest scheduling based on market demand; while aggressively promoting new issuances, maintaining growing area codes and export packaging facilities, boosting inspections and supervision to guarantee compliance with importing market regulations.

Concurrently, specialized agencies are boosting inspections and supervision over growing zones and packaging facilities post-code issuance; promptly detecting and rectifying instances failing to maintain prescribed conditions.

To bring the issuance and management of growing area codes and packaging facility codes into substantive practice, the Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee issued an Implementation Plan for the 2026–2030 period, aiming to satisfy origin traceability, phytosanitary quarantine, food safety, and importing market requirements.

Under the plan, by 2030, the province strives for 100% of eligible growing zone areas and 100% of export agricultural packaging facilities to be granted, managed, and maintained with codes under regulations.

For the 2026–2030 period, Dong Thap projects issuing new codes for 159,779 hectares, comprising 52,214 hectares of rice and sticky rice; 89,737 hectares of perennial trees (including fruit trees and coconuts); and 17,829 hectares of short-term crops.

By 2030, total area granted and maintaining growing area codes is projected to reach 377,722 hectares; within which rice and sticky rice occupy 203,082 hectares, perennial trees 153,440 hectares, and short-term crops 21,200 hectares. Concurrently, 100% of eligible export primary processing, handling, and packaging facilities will be granted and managed with codes.

A notable highlight in the plan is shifting from focusing on code issuance toward managing, maintaining, and efficiently exploiting codes. Commune-level People's Committees will guide, confirm dossiers, and inspect growing zone statuses; specialized agencies will conduct practical appraisals prior to issuing codes. Post-issuance, growing zones and packaging facilities will undergo periodic or surprise inspections.

In parallel, Dong Thap is aggressively promoting digital technology applications in managing growing area codes and packaging facilities, constructing databases regarding geographical locations, area, output, production entities, farming logs, pests, and production workflows. Thereby, step-by-step transitioning from manual management to data-driven management, serving origin traceability and satisfying increasingly high market demands.

However, standardizing raw material zones represents merely one link in the value chain. To elevate fruit value, Dong Thap must also resolve production linkage, processing, preservation, and logistics equations.

In practice, many production zones have reached large scales, yet linkages among farmers, cooperatives, and enterprises are not truly sustainable. Long-term consumption contracts remain sparse, certain cooperatives lack sufficient capacity to coordinate raw material zones, while enterprise direct investment in production zones remains limited.

Mr. Duong Van Day, a farmer cultivating 2.7 hectares of durian in Ngu Hiep Commune, considered that production linkages serve as a crucial factor to elevate durian quality and value. Therefore, farmers need to coordinate closely with scientists and specialized agencies, especially in finding solutions to overcome Cadmium contamination statuses to satisfy export market requirements. Beside that, participating in linkage chains demands farmers to alter farming practices, strictly comply with production workflows, log daily activities, and tightly control input materials. These represent vital conditions to maintain growing area codes, satisfy enterprise requirements, and build market trust.

Ms. Tran Thanh Phong, Director of My Phong Cooperative, stated: The cooperative specializes in producing and trading green-skin pomelo and possesses the capacity to guarantee product quality, food safety, and construct growing area codes. However, production organization and linkages between production and consumption still face shortcomings, failing to build a sustainable raw material zone. Therefore, enterprises and farmers need to share benefits and risks during linkage processes; thereby constructing stable production chains, guaranteeing agricultural product output and quality to supply partners long-term.

According to industry experts, deploying the plan for issuing and managing growing area codes and packaging facility codes for the 2026–2030 period aims not only to satisfy export market requirements, but also enables Dong Thap to reorganize raw material zones, elevate agricultural product quality, promote linkages, and shift from a production mindset toward a commodity sector economic mindset. Thereby, step-by-step elevating added value, competitive strength, and building a sustainable Dong Thap agricultural product brand across domestic and international markets.

Source: Bao Tin tuc va Dan toc - TTXVN