SPECIAL FEATURE: “VIETNAMESE PEOPLE PRIORITIZE USING VIETNAMESE GOODS”
From Festival to the Journey of Elevating Vietnamese Fruit
(DTO) The first Dong Thap Fruit Festival 2026, held in early June, was not only a celebration of the province's abundant harvests but also opened up new opportunities for Vietnamese fruit to enhance its value, build brands, and expand market access.
Following four days of vibrant activities, the festival concluded successfully and continues to generate positive momentum. From OCOP product displays and business matching events to stories of innovation among agricultural cooperatives, the festival has paved the way for a new chapter in Vietnam's fruit sector.
SMALL BOOTHS, BIG AMBITIONS
Among nearly 120 exhibition booths, the display of the My Long Agricultural Services Cooperative consistently attracted crowds of visitors. Fresh green seedless lemons and attractively displayed bottles of concentrated lemon - honey juice drew the attention of both local residents and tourists.
Mr. Le Van Nam, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the My Long Agricultural Services Cooperative, said the cooperative originated from the Minh Phat My Long Clubhouse. Through the clubhouse model, members realized that improving the value of agricultural products required organized and professional production linkages. In 2019, the cooperative was officially established.
The cooperative currently has 210 members cultivating more than 50 hectares of GlobalGAP-certified seedless lemons. Its fresh seedless lemons have been recognized as a three-star OCOP product and are exported to the Netherlands.
Rather than limiting itself to selling fresh fruit, the cooperative has invested in value-added deep processing, developing its concentrated lemon-honey juice, which has earned a four - star OCOP certification and gained wide popularity among consumers for its health benefits.
Notably, the cooperative has also adopted a circular production model. Lemon peels are upcycled to produce soap, while processing by-products are converted into organic fertilizer, aligning with the trend towards green, low-emission agriculture.
Following four days of vibrant activities, the first Dong Thap Fruit Festival 2026 attracted approximately 500,000 visitor arrivals for sightseeing, hands-on experiences, and shopping. The accompanying expo featured nearly 120 exhibition booths from businesses, agricultural cooperatives, and production and trading establishments from both within and outside the province. Through a series of business networking and trade promotion activities, numerous strategic partnerships were established, broadening market access for agricultural products. Total revenue generated at the exhibition area was estimated at around VND 4.5 billion. Building on the success of its inaugural edition, Dong Thap aims to develop the Fruit Festival into a recurring event for the Mekong Delta, serving as a dynamic platform for connecting production, processing, distribution, and the promotion of Vietnamese fruit's value. |
At this year's festival, the cooperative showcased its two flagship products: fresh My Long seedless lemons and concentrated lemon-honey juice.
According to Mr. Le Van Nam, both products were well received and attracted strong interest from consumers. This has encouraged the cooperative to continue investing in product improvement and expanding its market reach.
Also bringing local specialties to the festival, the Thien Phuc Cooperative, based in My Tinh An Commune, introduced a range of OCOP products, including dried dragon fruit, dried bananas, dried pomelo peel, soursop tea, yellow-skinned dragon fruit and various fresh fruits.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Phuc, Director of the Thien Phuc Cooperative, said many of the cooperative's products sold well during the festival, particularly dried dragon fruit and soursop tea. Consumers gave positive feedback on both the quality and diversity of the products.
The Thien Phuc Cooperative currently has 175 members cultivating 245 hectares of VietGAP-certified dragon fruit. To date, it has developed five three-star OCOP products: dried dragon fruit, dried bananas, dried pomelo peel, soursop tea and yellow-skinned dragon fruit.
According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Phuc, the festival provided an excellent opportunity for cooperatives to promote their products, establish business connections and expand consumption markets. It also helped consumers gain a better understanding of the quality, production processes and value of Vietnamese agricultural products.
The stories of the My Long and Thien Phuc cooperatives demonstrate that the value of fruit lies not only in production volume but is increasingly enhanced through deep processing, brand building and value chain development.
A CATALYST FOR THE FRUIT INDUSTRY
The first Dong Thap Fruit Festival was far more than a venue for showcasing and trading products. It also served as a dynamic forum where farmers, cooperatives, businesses and scientists exchanged ideas and explored solutions for developing the fruit industry in this new era.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Thien, Vice Chairman of the Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee, emphasized that the festival marked a crucial milestone in the province's strategy to develop the fruit industry in a modern, ecological and sustainable manner.
Beyond the festival, the issue of greatest concern to farmers and businesses is how to secure better prices for fruit, establish more stable markets and steadily drive up rural incomes.
To achieve these goals, the province will focus on reorganizing production toward large - scale farming, developing concentrated raw material production areas aligned with market demand, promoting the application of science and technology, digital transformation and innovation, and improving the quality of seeds and seedlings, products, preservation and deep processing.
At the same time, the province will continue strengthening the interconnected ecosystem among farmers, cooperatives, businesses, financial institutions and logistics providers in order to enhance the value chain and competitiveness of the fruit industry.
This is also the development path being pursued by many cooperatives. In the coming years, the My Long Agricultural Services Cooperative plans to expand its GlobalGAP - certified seedless lemon cultivation area to 100 hectares while continuing to invest in deep processing, refining packaging designs, and implementing strict traceability systems. Meanwhile, the Thien Phuc Cooperative will continue investing in technology, improving packaging, diversifying its product portfolio and expanding its distribution channels.
These orientations reflect a profound transformation in agricultural mindsets - shifting from simply producing agricultural products to developing a value chain - driven agricultural economy with quality, branding and markets placed at the center.
From seedless lemons and dried dragon fruit to soursop tea, Dong Thap's agricultural producers are steadily writing a new chapter for Vietnamese fruit-one defined by innovation, creativity and global ambitions.
With farmers, cooperatives, businesses and authorities working in lockstep, Vietnamese fruit is well positioned to build strong brands, enhance its value and successfully penetrate even the world's most demanding markets.
By H. Thong - M. Thanh - D. Trung
Translated by X.QUANG
