The tree that brings the highest income in the “Thirsty Land”.

Ninh Thuan is a province with a very harsh climate, with little rain, lots of sunshine and lots of wind. This country is described as “the most unique desert area in Southeast Asia”. With almost 2,900 hours of sunshine per year, this place has the highest average number of hours of sunshine in the country. But the harshness of this land is the benefit of growing certain crops, particularly grapevines.

For generations, income from grapevines has brought prosperity to the people of Ninh Thuan. Wine occupies an important position in the cultivation industry of Ninh Thuan province. This is reflected in the association with the province’s place name, which is called “Ninh Thuan grape”.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ninh Thuan, grapevines have been identified by the province’s agricultural sector as one of the key crops in the process of agricultural economic development. Although the vine-growing area in Ninh Thuan accounts for only 3-3.5% of the total acreage, the annual production value of vines reaches 19-20% of the total production value of the crop industry. Grape is considered to be the most economically valuable tree among crops and is a major source of income for farmers in Ninh Thuan.

In 2022, the vineyard area in Ninh Thuan is nearly 1,053 hectares, including more than 1,000 hectares of harvest area, the yield is 25.6 tons/ha, the production is over 25,700 tons/year.

By March 2023, the vineyard area in Ninh Thuan province increased slightly to 1,061 ha, the harvest area also increased to over 1,030 ha. The wine-growing area in Ninh Thuan is concentrated in the districts of Ninh Phuoc, Ninh Hai, Ninh Son, Thuan Nam and Phan Rank – Thap Cham. In Ninh Thuan almost every house grows wine, on average each household cultivates 0.1 to 3 hectares.

In the late 1990s, if 1 ha of grapes were grown with proper care, households would have an income of about 200-300 million VND/year. But now each hectare of land for vine growing can bring an average income of 600 million – 2.5 billion VND/crop depending on the timing of the harvest and the grape variety.

If farmers grow red grapes (Red Cardinal) or NH01-48 varieties, the profit after cost can reach 470-730 million VND/ha/crop. Cultivation of new grape varieties NH01-152, NH04-102 (black finger) is more profitable and can reach 1.28-2.17 billion VND/ha/crop.

“In recent years, the place has been supplemented with new varieties of high-yielding and high-quality grapes, in addition, farmers have applied technical advances and used high technology in production. Grape acreage grown according to VietGAP standards, grown in greenhouses using an economical irrigation system, using biological preparations and integrated pest control always offer higher yields than those planted with grapes in the traditional way,” said Mr. Dang Kim Cuong, Director of Ninh Thuan Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Ninh Thuan grapes “locally exported”

Currently, the average grape production in Ninh Thuan is about 26,000 tons of fresh grapes per year. In addition, there are also products processed from grapes, such as grape umbrellas, dried grapes, dried grapes, grape syrup, grape wine, grape juice, etc., which have penetrated the out-of-provincial consumption market and are available in large supermarkets across the country such as Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City…

The consumption system consists of a network of wholesalers, agents and shops that spread across neighboring provinces, so that the quantity of grapes is provided nationwide in all markets. At present, in the development of e-commerce, Ninh Thuan grapes have the ability to sell retail on websites and forums, proving that Ninh Thuan grape products are attracting more and more interest from consumers.

Red Ninh Thuan grapes are currently 40,000-50,000 VND/kg, NH01-48 green grapes 70,000-80,000 VND/kg, NH01-152 pink grapes 100,000-120,000 VND/kg, black finger grapes 250,000 VND/kg, black grapes 200,000 VND / kg, peony grapes 350,000 VND/kg.

To increase wine production, Ninh Thuan strengthens management of geographical indications and certification marks, and issues intelligent electronic stamps to trace the origin of Ninh Thuan grapes. Mobilize and support farms to apply scientific and technical advances in production, apply the post-harvest preservation technology transferred and invested by the Institute of Electromechanics and Post-harvest Technology (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), wine-making system, grape syrup drying line, etc. Cold storage to improve the quality and the value of Ninh Thuan grapes.

In addition to implementing synchronous solutions to promote wine growing and grape product processing in a modern and sustainable way, Ninh Thuan also encourages the development of tours to bring visitors together and enjoy the products. Products from grapes directly in the garden. Since then, products made from grapes have been promoted and introduced, and the direction of “local export of grapes” of certain local products has been opened.

The model of wine cultivation combined with ecotourism of Thai An Agricultural Cooperative, Ba Moi Grape Farm, Hoang Yen Grape Farm… attracts a large number of tourists to Ninh Thuan to explore and experience Ninh Thuan.

Dang Kim Cuong, director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ninh Thuan, said: With five geographic areas including Phuoc Dan City, Phuoc Thuan Township, Phuoc Son Township, Phuoc Huu Township of Ninh Phuoc District and Municipality Phuoc Nam in Thuan District, said Mr. Nam has been certified with the Geographical Indication Ninh Thuan Grape. The Ninh Thuan Apple Grape Association has created an electronic information site to find partners to exchange, trade and export Ninh Thuan grape products to improve the quality of the product. Grape production and business activities in the province with the aim of increasing the export of grapes and developing the grape industry in the context of global integration.