Tien Giang expands pineapple growing area

Tien Giang province has expanded the growing area of pineapples in Tan Phuoc district to 16,000 hectares, and is expecting to produce over 287,000 tonnes for domestic consumption and export.

Ha Van Bay, a farmer in Thanh My commune of Tan Phuoc district, takes care of his ornamental pineapple field (Photo: VNA)

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has expanded the growing area ofpineapples in Tan Phuoc district to 16,000 hectares, and is expectingto produce over 287,000 tonnes for domestic consumption and export.

Besides expanding the cultivation area, local authorities haveencouraged farmers to apply advanced farming techniques andmanufacturing processes in line with the Vietnam Agricultural Practice (VietGap) standards in order to improve the fruit quality.

Sofar, the district has invested in a 700-kilometre dyke system and pumpstations to protect pineapple crops in the flood season.

Withan average yield of nearly 20 tonnes per hectare, farmers earn a profitof 30-35 million VND a year, according to Deputy Chairman of themunicipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Lam.

With 4 hectaresof pineapple meeting VietGap standards, Ngo Van Bien in Tan Phuoc's TanLap 2 Commune earns about 320 million VND (14,800 USD) in productionvalue annually, of which his net profit reaches about 50 percent.-VNA