About 30 years before the dragon fruit tree was planted as an ornamental tree by the people of Binh Thuan, the fruit was only for play but not for sale, according to Mr. Hiep's observation, it was a tree that “told it to die. not die. If I cut it off, it will still live and bloom, with fruits all year round and the fruit is sweet, cool and easy to eat ”.
Many people think ... crazy
It was from these observations that in 1988, Mr. Hiep decided to quickly propagate dragon fruit trees and planted them all over the 3 hectare garden. "At that time many people thought I was crazy" - Mr. Hiep recalls. But when they saw that the product consumed very well in the neighboring provinces and spread throughout the country, many people followed and gradually formed a strong tree of Binh Thuan province today.
Effective business, Mr. Hiep gradually expanded the area and now is 400 hectares of dragon fruit being harvested. The entire area is planted according to GlobalGAP standards. “My dragon fruits account for 90% of Vietnam's export volume in the European market. If I do not follow the international standards on food safety and hygiene, then ... I can give them or they will not take it ”- Mr. Hiep explained the reason for large-scale and methodical investment for dragon fruit farm of yourself.
To maintain the leading position, at the end of 2013 Mr. Hiep decided to invest 2 billion VND in seeding. He bought the purple and pink dragon fruit that the Southern Fruit Institute has just bred. This is the first time a fruit tree has been commercialized in Vietnam and Mr. Hiep holds the monopoly on production and sales of products from this plant. To exploit the potential of the new variety, Mr. Hiep is actively expanding the planting area to 500 ha. "I will bring it to market at a recent time when we can be proactive in production" - Mr. Hiep shared.
Unsold fruit has been profitable
Mr. Hiep said that before 2003, he had customers abroad but had to export by trust through another partner. But as the amount of products exported increased, he decided to set up a business so that he could export directly and also start the branding. That is why the Hoang Hau dragon fruit brand (grafted from the names of two sons) was born and the export volume is increasing.
According to Mr. Hiep, when deciding to "do big business", it will have difficulty in managing and operating but also have many benefits. For example, the production cost per unit area will be lower than traditional production because it is possible to buy fertilizer at a price closer to the real price; Large volumes can guarantee uniform quality for large orders, so customers often give priority. Especially when doing big business, there are opportunities to invest in product development, branding easier and more favorable.
Mr. Hiep cited: “I spent 2 billion VND to buy purple and pink dragon fruit and hold the copyright for this variety, which allows us to monopolize in production and trading. From a scientific perspective, it facilitates scientists to actively study hybridization to create new and better quality varieties. We haven't launched the product yet, but we have made a profit. That is the "word" from the press and media coverage of the breed, about that event, contributing to building brand reputation for dragon fruit Hoang Hau. The benefit is even bigger than the 2 billion dong we spent. "
According to Chi Nhan