The price of first-grade dragon fruits climbed to an all-time high of VND21,000 a kilogram in Binh Thuan Province on December 5, an increase of VND12,000-14,000 per kilogram over that of the middle crop.
Although the prices were escalating, most dragon fruit growers said they did not have dragon fruits to sell. Meanwhile, fruits traders said they were willing to purchase without classifying.
According to the Binh Thuan Dragon Fruits Association, the prices rose as dragon fruits growers failed to make their plants to bloom unseasonably two months ago because of unfavorable weather.
Binh Thuan grows dragon fruits in an area of more than 12,500 hectares, of which 2,600 hectares are recognized to meet the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices standards (VietGAP). It is expected that all the dragon fruits grown in the province will meet safety standards by 2015.
Binh Thuan’s dragon fruits have been exported to the US and European markets but mostly to Asian markets, of which China accounts for 70 percent of the market shares. Korean has also opened for Vietnamese dragon fruits.
