Hanoi (VNA) -♓ “Bu” orange is one of the key agricultural products of Huong Son, Ha Tinh province, favoured by consumers for its special sweet taste.

The days of the “bu” orange crop are numbered, yet markets in Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province, are still busy trading this kind of specialty. According to traders here, the fruit is ripening, turning yellow, and fetching higher income compared to the early days of the crop.

Specialty fruit

“Bu” orange is normally spheral with thick and smooth peel. Ripened, it turn into a beautiful yellow. Besides, it is favoured by consumers thanks to its deep and sweet taste and juicy citrons. A representative of the Huong Son office of Agriculture and Rural Development said this kind of orange has been extensively cultivated since the 1960s. Currently, it is a specialty fruit and one of the key agricultural products of the region with high economic efficiency. The area under “bu” orange in Huong Son in 2019 was about 965 ha (out of the total of over 2,150 ha under various kinds of orange), 60 ha more than that in 2028. In 2019, Huong Son district had two cooperatives, 39 cooperative groups and four farms engaged in the cultivation of “bu” orange, with the participation of more than 200 households, mostly in the communes of Son Mai, son Truong, Son Thuy, Son Ham, Son Quang, Son Lam, and Son Tay. Those establishments have been granted with certificates on the production procedures under the VietGAP standards. The average weight of this kind of fruit is about 0.3 kg, some even as heavy as 0.5 – 0.7 kg. According to Nguyen Thi Tuyet, one of the farmers with a long experience in the cultivation of “bu” orange in Son Truong commune, Huong Son district, it takes the trees at least four years after the planting to fruit. The average number of the fruits from each tree is 100 – 150 each crop, but many can yield up to 200 fruits. To keep the fruits from lying on the ground, Huong Son farmers often support the branches with sticks.

ꦕTuyet added that the harvest of the fruit often lasts from the 12th to the 2nd month of the lunar calendar. For the Lunar New Year, “bu” orange is a must-have fruit to be placed on altars of Huong Son locals. Villagers here even use the fruit as a kind of medical herb in preventing curing flu.

Improving livelihood

As annual harvest comes, wholesale traders from every corner of the country often rush to each orchard to buy the fruit, with prices ranging from 18,000 to 30,000 VND per kilo. Chau Thi My Dung, a wholesale trader, said: “In this crop, I have bought about 15 tonnes of orange from Huong Son households. As the fruit’s quality this year is higher than that of the previous crops, it sells like hot cake. The retail sale price ranges from 20,000 to 40,000 VND per kilo. This price is not so high as the quality is high. That is why consumers can easily loosen the strings of their purse.” Sharing the view, farmer Tuyet said that in general, the yield and quality of Huong son “bu” orange of this crop are higher than those of previous ones. It has become one of the fruit trees that yields the highest economic efficiency in Huong Son, about 10 times, she said, adding that her family earns a profit of several hundreds of millions of VND this crop. The representative of the Huong Son district office of Agriculture and Rural Development said the specialty orange is enjoying many advantages in approaching the market. It has built its geographical guidance and trademark, and won VietGAP certificates. As a result, in the time to come, the market for the fruit will be widened, and the higher added value will prompt farmers to expand their cultivation. For 2020, Huong Son district has set a target of widening the area under “bu” orange to 985 ha and ensuring a long-lasting linkage./.