Son La calls summer by the scent of ripe longan. The sweet taste of Song Ma longan spreads throughout the high mountains, following the children of the border region out into the world.
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At this time, some fruit trees in Song Ma district - Son La province are ready for harvest. According to the assessment of garden owners in Song Ma district, this year, fruit trees such as longan, mango, grapefruit... have bloomed a lot, the fruit set rate is 85-90%, the fresh fruit output is estimated at nearly 90,000 tons. Notably, when the longan flowers set fruit, there is almost no rain, so the rate of flower drop is minimized, it is predicted that this year the longan will have a lot of fruit. In the upper reaches of the Ma River, where barren rocks cannot stop green shoots from the hands of farmers, a special fruit variety has made Son La famous – Song Ma longan. It is no coincidence that people call it "golden fruit of the border region". With more than 7,500 hectares and an output of over 70,000 tons per year, Song Ma longan is not only plump in shape and golden in color, but also full of expectations for a "branded" agriculture of the Northwest. |
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According to annual practice, early ripening longan is harvested in May-June every year, with an average selling price of 50-60,000 VND/kg, which is 2-3 times higher than the price of main-season longan. Thanks to that, in recent years, Song Ma district has promoted and mobilized people to graft, crossbreed, and develop the area of early ripening longan, gradually replacing the longan trees of the region. Along with that, it is necessary to guide farmers to apply science and technology to the production of early ripening longan, and strengthen the promotion and introduction of products to consumers. Longan trees are grown in villages along both banks of the Ma River in the communes of Na Nghiu, Chieng So, Chieu Khoong, and Chieng Cang. According to many farmers, every year during the main season, longan prices are quite low, and sometimes gardeners are forced to lower prices by traders. This year, to ensure product output, especially longan fruit when the harvest season is approaching, Song Ma district has directed specialized agencies, communes, towns, and cooperatives to strengthen the management of assigned growing area codes; continue to review and supplement new growing area codes; strictly manage safe agricultural production processes. At the same time, manage the technical process of post-harvest care of fruit trees; coordinate with departments and branches to train and improve technical capacity for care and fertilization of crops for cooperatives and people. |
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Regarding consumption, during the main season, Song Ma - Son La longan is transported for consumption at many fruit wholesale markets in localities such as Hanoi, Hung Yen, Hai Phong... In addition, the amount of fallen and poor fruit will be collected to process longan, bringing in very high economic value. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong - Vice Chairman of Son La Provincial People's Committee said that Son La has now risen to the second position in the country in terms of fruit tree area and the largest in the Northern region. Agricultural products and food of the province are gradually being produced according to safe production processes to ensure market standards, agricultural production has initially been linked with the processing industry to boost consumption andexport goodscontribute to promoting the socio-economic development of the province. |
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Many years ago, when Song Ma longan was at its peak, people often sold only small quantities in the area and could not find an outlet for the product. Song Ma longan was consumed in China through unofficial channels at a limited level. In order for Song Ma longan to be consumed in large quantities and at high prices, in recent years, the local government has supported many policies and transferred science and technology for cooperatives and people to apply, completely changing the cultivation method to improve product quality, meeting the expectations and needs of consumers. The product has both good quality thanks to good seed sources and safety thanks to standard production, so Song Ma longan has been exported to many markets around the world such as the United States, China, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. |
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Besides exporting and consuming domestically in the form of fresh fruit, Song Ma district said that the locality is currently promoting solutions to support product processing. Currently, the district has 2,996 longan processing facilities; including 734 clean steam dryers, 3 cold storages and 6 refrigerated containers. In Song Ma, longan is no longer a fruit tree, but a tree that brings wealth. Thanks to exports to many countries, the Song Ma longan brand is increasingly affirmed. With a stable selling price of 25,000-35,000 VND/kg, sometimes up to nearly 40,000 VND/kg, each household can earn hundreds of millions of VND/season (according to VietnamPlus, 2023). In particular, main-season grafted longan and late-ripening longan have expanded the consumption margin, extending the value chain. Trung Dung Organic Agricultural Cooperative, Chieng Cang Commune, Song Ma District has 14 members, growing 39 hectares of various fruit trees, mainly longan trees. In production development, members have invested in irrigation systems for fruit tree areas; applied VietGAP production processes, techniques for early-ripening, inter-season and off-season longan... Currently, the Cooperative has 20 hectares of early-ripening, inter-season longan. To increase product value, Song Ma District has supported the Cooperative in building brands and promoting trade and product consumption. In particular, in addition to direct consumption, Son La also promotes longan consumption on e-commerce platforms. Since the 2022 longan season, Son La has aggressively brought agricultural products to e-commerce platforms such as nongsan.buudien.vn and Sendo to bring products to consumers nationwide. In addition, this type of longan is also traded on social networking platforms and is always in a state of "out of stock". |
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Currently, Song Ma longan has been granted geographical indications and collective trademarks, protected not only by law but also by market trust. In 2021, along with mangoes, Son La longan was granted a certificate of protection for the "Son La longan" certified trademark in Vietnam. |
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Along with trade promotion and fresh fruit consumption, Son La province has also implemented many solutions to enhance longan processing. Thanks to industrial promotion capital, many establishments have invested in longan processing technology, bringing high value. Mr. Vu Van Minh - Director of Trung Dung Organic Agricultural Cooperative - Chieng Cang Commune, Song Ma District said that in 2024, the Cooperative will be supported with packaging and boxes to export to supermarkets and traders in need. At the same time, it will support a longan drying oven. In 2024, the province harvested and consumed 53,995 tons of longan fruit, with an estimated value of VND 1,531,182 million, of which: Domestic consumption of fresh fruit was 45,299 tons, with an estimated value of VND 1,362,134 million; Longan for processing was 8,416 tons, with an estimated value of VND 158,628 million; Exported 280 tons of fresh longan fruit, with an estimated value of VND 10,420 million; exported 405 tons of longan fruit, with an estimated value of VND 57,850 million. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong emphasized: "The processing industry will contribute to solving the problem of crop seasons and, more importantly, increase income, create jobs for workers, and build a sustainable production chain. In the coming time, Son La will continue to bring products into deep processing and create OCOP products, thereby contributing to the development of sustainable agriculture." |
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Accordingly, in 2025 and the following years, Song Ma district will continue to apply policies to integrate capital sources from national target programs to support investment in infrastructure serving production, associated with renovating and upgrading facilities for purchasing, processing, packaging and preserving agricultural products in the area to ensure food hygiene and safety standards. In addition, it will focus on reviewing and managing safe production areas according to VIETGAP standards, improving product designs and quality to meet domestic consumption and export requirements. From the beginning of 2025, the People's Committee of Song Ma district directed specialized agencies, People's Committees of communes and towns to work with cooperatives and enterprises to collect key products, continue to maintain traditional customers; increase the introduction and promotion of products to customers nationwide. Coordinate with departments and branches to promote the district's typical agricultural products on social networking platforms such as TikTok, Facebook; participate in weeks of agricultural products and typical goods of the province; send products to participate in booths on e-commerce platforms...; encourage cooperatives and production households to organize livestreams to sell products on social networks. |
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Preparing for the harvest of fruit trees as well as many agricultural products in 2025, Son La province has proactively planned to promote and consume agricultural products, expand links and cooperation; bring Son La agricultural products, including longan, to many domestic and international markets. According to the plan to promote the consumption of agricultural products in 2025, Son La province has been organizing clean agricultural product weeks of Son La province in Hanoi and Hai Phong city; coordinating with the Trade Promotion Department, supporting Son La enterprises and cooperatives to participate in the Trade Promotion Fair program in Lao Cai province, approaching foreign customers, bringing Son La agricultural products to more international friends. In which longan is one of the most important fruits. In Song Ma, each longan not only brings the sweet season, but also awakens aspirations. In the middle of the Northwest, there are small hands knocking on the world's door with fragrance, sweetness, with the spirit and desire to bring Vietnamese agricultural products to the world. |