A farmer in southern Vietnam has invested more than US$1 million in a clean process to produce bananas in the hope of bringing the Vietnamese fruit to the world. At the end of 2014, farmer Vo Quan Huy decided to spend $1.4 million growing more than 100 hectares of bananas the clean way in Long An Province and Tay Ninh Province. The 70ha banana farm in Tay Ninh’s Trang Bang District is considered the largest of its kind in the south, which meets requirements for clean production. Each harvest needs around VND300 million ($13,393) per hectare. Huy, who has six farms raising cattle as well as growing sugarcane, chilli, and watermelon in Long An, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh, also registered the brand FOHLA (Food Huy Long An) for his banana products in mid-2015. He has so far exported more than 500 metric tons of bananas to Singapore, India and China under this brand. The 61-year-old farmer said he is in talks with importers from Japan and Malaysia to increase his shipments, targeting 10,000 metric tons in exports each year by 2017. “The toughest part of a farmer stepping out into the global market is he is inexperienced,” he said.
A worker is seen working on banana seedlings. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A worker checks the quality of bananas at a garden of farmer Vo Quan Huy in Tay Ninh Province before packing them. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Bananas are handled after being harvested. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Bananas are moved from the garden to the processing factory via an automated system. Photo: Tuoi Tre
FOHLA bananas are accepted in strict markets like Dubai and Singapore. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Workers wash bananas after harvesting them. It takes around 30 minutes to reap the fruits and package them for sale. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Workers carefully pack bananas. Photo: Tuoi Tre
The garden is equipped with a 50km-long watering system. Photo: Tuoi Tre