Opening the way for export
Mr. Tran Van Phuc's San Tien pink plum garden is currently one of the large-scale concentrated plum growing areas of the locality. At this time, gardeners are harvesting about 20ha, and at the same time promoting export procedures to England, France, Korea and the Middle East.
Mr. Phuc said that thanks to VietGAP production and organic orientation, the product was quickly welcomed by the market, currently sold at a price of 150,000 - 230,000 VND/kg, a high price compared to the domestic plum market.
Mr. Phuc informed that it is expected that in 2026, 200-300 tons of plums will be supplied to the market. Especially in the rainy season, when the sugar content in the fruit does not meet the requirements, gardeners proactively temporarily stop harvesting, focusing on nurturing the trees to ensure quality for the next crop.
According to Mr. Phuc, export markets such as the UK, France, Korea or the Middle East all have very strict requirements. "The most important thing is zero residue and transparency of the entire production process. When partners inspect and accept, we are completely assured to expand production," Mr. Phuc said.
Numbering each cluster of plums
Mr. Phuc said that plum trees from planting to fruiting take about 17 months; from flowering to plum ripening takes about 100 days. Thanks to being digitally managed according to each lot, each tree, gardeners do not spend much time checking ripenance like traditional farming methods.
Accordingly, each plum bunch is numbered right from the time of fruit formation, and at the same time, full information about the flowering time, expected harvest and quality classification is updated to the digital management system. When harvesting, workers only need to base on the code to determine whether the plum bunch needs to be harvested first or left behind, limiting early harvesting or over-harvesting, helping the harvesting process to take place quickly, accurately and uniformly in quality.
Numbering each cluster of plums also helps gardeners accurately calculate output according to each stage, proactively offer goods and sign consumption contracts in advance, instead of finding outlets after harvesting like the traditional method.
When the planting area is large, from a few tens to hundreds of acres, if you do not manage the quantity, you cannot know the output in advance. Only when digitized, can we forecast how many fruits and how many tons will be harvested 30 days before harvest, thereby proactively offering for sale and signing orders," Mr. Phuc said.
Mr. Phuc added that each plum after harvest is kept in a paper bag with a code to serve data entry and traceability. Before being put on the market, the product is sorted, cleaned, packaged and QR coded on each fruit, helping consumers easily look up information about the growing area, harvest time and production process.
According to Mr. Phuc, when products are put on e-commerce platforms, it significantly shortens the consumption chain, so that producers and consumers benefit together, while the profit previously falling into the hands of traders is returned to farmers.
If there is no traceability, no digital management, the profit may lose 50–60% to the intermediary stage. Farmers work hard but do not enjoy much, while consumers have to buy at high prices. Conversely, when digital management is applied, products have clear selling prices. Increased profits help farmers have conditions to reinvest and continue to improve product quality," Mr. Phuc analyzed.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dac, Vice Chairman of Cu Lao Dung Commune People's Committee (Can Tho City), assessed that the model is suitable for local soil conditions, has many prospects for expansion and potential for combining agricultural tourism. This model has been included in the agricultural economic development plan for the period 2026 - 2030, aiming to replace inefficient crops, gradually reduce sugarcane area and increase income for farming households in a sustainable direction.
