Price of white-flesh dragon fruit soars

With the soaring prices, dragon fruit growers have enjoyed increased profits of over VND5,000 per kilo. According to sources in local businesses, the upturn in price can be attributed to an increasingly high export demand for the agricultural product, especially from the Chinese market.

A number of co-operatives that have applied the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGap) standards to grow the fruit have also seen increased exports in demanding markets such as the United States, Japan, and the EU.

With the escalating price of white-flesh dragon fruit, red-flesh dragon fruit has remained at VND20,000 per kilo, earning no additional profit for farmers of red-flesh dragon fruit.

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is home to nearly 8,000 hectares of dragon fruit cultivation area, with the district of Cho Gao being the leading growing area.

Aside from white-flesh and red-flesh dragon fruit, local farmers have also expanded their operations to grow both yellow and purple-flesh dragon fruit.