Promoting the brand name Thanh Tra

Guests visiting stalls that introduced specialties from thanh tra at the thanh tra festival in 2016 

After many years of cultivating lilies, and after the historic flood in 1999, Mr. Ho Huu Chung’s household, residing in group 4, Thuy Bieu Ward invested money to grow thanh tra and began to harvest in 2015. With an area of 1500m2, each year his family earns over 50 million VND.

Mr. Chung says that thanh tra is an easy fruit to grow and take care of, yielding an income that is much higher than flowers and other fruit trees. Due to the fertile soil, with sediment deposited from the Huong River, thanh tra here is sweet and fragrant unlike other places. So, the price that these thanh tra fruits fetch is higher, approximately 40,000 to 50,000 VND/kg. Currently, 1800m2 of the family’s land is used for farming rice, but they expect to switch to growing thanh tra in the next year or two.

According to Ms. Huynh Thi An, this year, Thuy Bieu’s thanh tra does not have a good crop as previous years, but the fruits are bigger and more uniform in size, so the profit is higher. Currently, thanh tra orchards are in harvest, but no one is selling them yet as everyone is waiting for the festival, when visitors come and visit and buy thanh tra right at the orchards in September.

With 800 households growing thanh tra with a total area of nearly 150ha, accounting for 50% of the thanh tra farming land of the province, Thuy Bieu is a destination for many people to buy thanh tra because of the special sweetness of the fruits grown by the banks of the Huong River. After more than 10 years of branding, this specialty is now available in major supermarkets nationwide.

Guests visiting stalls that introduced specialties from thanh tra at the thanh tra festival in 2016 

Vice Chairman of Thuy Bieu Ward People’s Committee, Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, said that compared with other fruit trees, thanh tra’s economic value is 5 to 7 times higher. At present, 1ha of thanh tra yields an income of 150 to 200 million VND, so many households are investing capital to gradually shift the land currently growing perennial crops to growing thanh tra.

According to Mr. Huy, despite the development of cultivation, Thuy Bieu’s thanh tra output is secured as the Thuy Bieu Agriculture Cooperative has contracted with supermarkets and outlets in provinces across the country to provide thanh tra in large quantities.

In order to support the farmers with the capital for renovation of the orchards and investment in varieties and techniques to expand the area, the People's Committee of Thuy Bieu Ward has cooperated with banks to provide loans to farmers with a total amount of up to 3 billion VND. Currently, Thuy Bieu Ward People's Committee is encouraging farmers to switch growing other crops in ineffective land to cultivating thanh tra to increase income and develop the thanh tra specialty.

To promote the brand of thanh tra, and at the same time, provide opportunities for local products, from August 30 to September 2, Thuy Bieu Ward People's Committee will hold a thanh tra festival with many programs and practical activities. With the theme “Thanh Tra – a Taste of Hue”, in addition to the activities such as the thanh tra fruit contest, culinary contest of delicious dishes made from thanh tra, and agricultural – craft – cuisine space, this year, there are two new activities: introducing the process of growing and caring for thanh tra trees and the thanh tra offering ceremony to the King.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Thuy Bieu Ward, Mr. Hoang Thang Long says that with a total budget of nearly 1 billion VND, this year's festival not only organizes activities to introduce and promote thanh tra specialties, but also reenact the thanh tra offering ceremony to the village communal house and the Citadel. Thanh tra is considered one of the three specialties used in the old days as offerings to the King, along with An Cuu’s rice and Kim Long’s nested longan.

Story and photos: Thanh Huong