“Profit from Seedless Lemon Farming: Exceed $400,000 in Annual Exports per Hectare.”

This model has solved the problem of agricultural product consumption amidst volatile market prices, breaking the cycle of “good harvest, low price” that often puts farmers at risk of losses. Currently, the profit per hectare of cooperative-linked lime farming in Tra Vinh reaches over VND 400 million per year, 7-8 times higher than that of rice cultivation on the same land.

Mr. Le Tan Tien in Huyen Hoi, Cang Long district, a member of Thanh Chi Cooperative, switched 0.4 hectares of low-yield rice fields to grow 270 seedless lime trees four years ago. Mr. Tien shared that the yield of rice in this area was very unstable, and the price of rice fluctuated a lot. The highest annual income from rice cultivation was only VND 50 million per hectare per year.

After switching to seedless lime, his orchard is harvested twice a month, with a yield of 2.5-3 tons. Mr. Tien’s family is assured of a profit of over VND 30 million per month after deducting all production costs such as fertilizer, pesticides, and labor… Seeing the high efficiency, Mr. Tien’s family is expanding the lime orchard to 0.8 hectares, and the new orchard is now eight months old.

According to Mr. Le Tan Tien, the seedless lime tree is very easy to grow, adaptable to different soils, resistant to pests and diseases, and requires minimal care and costs. However, as the limes are for export, farmers must strictly adhere to the cooperative’s guidelines regarding the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

What gives Mr. Tien and other farmers peace of mind is that their limes are guaranteed a stable market with prices always higher than the market price by at least VND 3,000 per kg. Currently, the cooperative’s purchasing price of VND 17,000 per kg is VND 10,000 higher than the market price. During the off-season (from November to March of the following year), the cooperative buys limes at a price of up to over VND 30,000 per kg, bringing even higher profits to the farmers.

Mr. Phan Duc Tai in Huyen Hoi, Cang Long district, is the director of Thanh Chi Cooperative and the pioneer who brought seedless lime trees to this area in 2018. Initially, his family and five other households in the locality only experimented with growing limes on an area of 3.9 hectares. After a year, the trees started bearing fruit, and after 18 months, they entered stable production with a yield of 30-50 tons per hectare per year. With a selling price of VND 15,000 per kg, the farmers’ profit after deducting expenses was over VND 400 million per hectare per year.

Seeing the positive results, many households in the village also switched from low-yield rice fields or transformed their uncultivated gardens into seedless lime orchards. In 2022, Mr. Phan Duc Tai established the Thanh Chi Seedless Lime Cooperative with 10 members and a production area of 7 hectares. As the output could not meet the demand of the export partner, the cooperative admitted new members and linked with farmers in other communes in Cang Long, Chau Thanh, and Tra Cu districts to expand the area for growing seedless limes. To date, the cooperative has a total area of 142 hectares of limes in many localities in the province. The cooperative is working with The Fruit Republic Company in Can Tho to export seedless limes to the Dutch market.

According to Mr. Phan Duc Tai, the director of Thanh Chi Cooperative, the cooperative’s export partner has a monthly demand of up to 100 tons of seedless limes, but the cooperative can only supply 30-50% of this amount. Therefore, the cooperative plans to continue expanding the area for growing seedless limes with farmers in the province, aiming to develop an additional 50 hectares per year from now until 2027. This year, the cooperative also plans to establish a seedless lime material region in Cau Ke district.

Farmers participating in the cooperative are provided with seedlings, technical support, and guidance on production and care processes. They also benefit from output-guarantee contracts with prices at least VND 3,000 per kg higher than the market price. As the limes are grown organically, farmers can use agricultural by-products as fertilizer, reducing costs significantly.

Members of the cooperative also have access to loans of VND 50 million per person from the capital entrusted by the Tra Vinh Provincial Farmers’ Union for model conversion. They are also facilitated to access other policies of the Tra Vinh Cooperative Alliance.

However, Mr. Phan Duc Tai noted that farmers must strictly comply with the regulations regarding the use of fertilizers and pesticides, using only those with ingredients permitted by the importing country (the Netherlands) and listed by The Fruit Republic Company in Can Tho.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Nguyen, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Huyen Hoi, in the process of crop structure adjustment in the commune, seedless lime has become the main alternative crop, bringing the highest efficiency to the local people, 7-8 times higher than that of rice cultivation on the same area. The locality sets a target to develop an additional 100 hectares of seedless lime by 2025.

According to Mr. Thai Phuoc Loc, Chairman of the Tra Vinh Cooperative Alliance, the alliance is coordinating with localities to expand the material region for growing seedless limes and encouraging farmers to join cooperatives to access support policies for rice land conversion, production linkage, and agricultural product consumption.

Seedless lime is a crop that adapts well to climate change, as it requires less irrigation water. In addition, its ease of cultivation and care means that farmers can utilize family labor, reducing production costs for farming households.

The Tra Vinh Cooperative Alliance is also facilitating the Thanh Chi Cooperative to access policies on supporting funds for the construction of warehouses and the establishment of export planting area codes.