The farmers are using moulds that can shape grapefruits. The company that makes the moulds provides them to farmers in Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang and Soc Trang and then purchases and distributes the fruit. It is expected that anywhere between 1,000 and 3,000 shaped pomelos will hit the market this Tet.
Moulded grapefruit
Vo Trung Thanh, chairman of Phu Tan Grapefruit Graphics Association in Hau Giang Province, said, “We signed a contract with a company in Hanoi in September 2011 to produce shaped fruits. Experiments have been promising.”
The shaped grapefruits are not only good for decoration, but can be eaten as well.
Huynh Phuoc Gion, a farmer from Hau Giang Province, said farmers are happy to produce these fruits and that the company signed contracts to buy all their produce at prices five times that of normal fruit.
The company plans to expand its area of production after Tet, and more shaped fruits can be harvested next July.
Fruit growers in the Mekong Delta plan to increase production to between 200,000 and 400,000 in the future, and prices will be lowered. There are also plans for exporting.
