At this time, many gardeners in Can Tho City are entering the important stage of shaping fruit cultivation to serve the Binh Ngo Lunar New Year 2026 market. Although the production scale is still limited, this model is bringing higher economic value to farmers compared to traditional farming methods.
In Phu Huu commune (Can Tho City), Mr. Vo Trung Thanh - who has been attached to shaped pomelos for many years, said that the preparation stage for the Tet pomelo crop usually starts very early. Right from August of the lunar calendar, he surveyed the garden, selected pomelos that meet the requirements to put into shaped molds.
According to Mr. Thanh, the quality of raw fruit is the decisive factor for the success rate. Grapefruit must develop evenly, the plant is strong, if not selected correctly, it will easily be deformed or damaged during shaping. From the time the grapefruit flowers to harvest time lasts about 6 months, requiring close monitoring and careful shelter to limit the impact of weather and pests and diseases.
This year, Mr. Thanh linked the raw pomelo area in Vinh Long province and a part of the home garden in Chau Thanh commune, with a production of about 800 shaped pomelos. However, heavy rainy weather has increased care and labor costs. However, the expected selling price for the 2026 Binh Ngo Tet holiday is still stable, ranging from 300,000 to 700,000 VND/fruit, depending on the design.
Besides traditional "ho lo" grapefruit, Mr. Thanh continues to develop grapefruit samples printed with the words "Tai - Loc", gold bars, and coins to meet market demand. He is also willing to share experiences and provide technical support for households that need to participate in production.
Not only pomelos, many young gardeners in Can Tho are choosing their own direction with printed fruit products. Mr. Bui Van Thuc (39 years old, Chau Thanh commune) said that he is currently focusing on selecting and packing mangoes, coconuts, papayas to prepare for the printing stage to serve Tet.
It is expected that this year's Tet crop, Mr. Thuc will supply the market with about 1,500 letters-printed mangoes, along with 500 coconuts and 500 shaped papayas. In addition to letters for wealth and fortune, he also develops mangoes printed with the mascot in 2026, which is a horse, with the message "success upon arrival".
According to Mr. Thuc, making shaped fruits does not require large capital but requires a lot of labor and meticulousness. The risk is quite high due to weather and fruit quality, but when successful, the selling price is many times higher than selling regular fruits. In the context of predicted buying power stagnation, he plans to keep the price of shaped mangoes at about 150,000 VND/fruit; shaped papayas and custard apples at about 130,000 VND/fruit.
Reality shows that shaped fruit is opening up a direction to improve the value of agricultural products for Can Tho farmers. However, for this model to develop sustainably, gardeners need to carefully calculate costs, markets and risks, especially in increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.
