Canh oranges a hit in Ha Noi

The orange, named after the old Canh region in the outskirts of Ha Noi, is famous for gentle sweet taste, bright appearance and thin peel. It's said to have the best taste when being grown in the Canh region – Van Canh Commune in Hoai Duc District and Xuan Phuong Commune in Tu Liem District today.

However, according to Ha Noi's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, farmers in other localities started growing the Canh oranges after seeing its high economic value.

Across the city, Canh oranges are grown in a total area of 747 hectares in suburban districts of Thanh Oai, Chuong My, Dong Anh and Hoai Duc. The yearly productivity reaches almost 7,000 tonnes of oranges.

Canh orange farming first arrived in Thanh Oai District's Kim An Commune in 2001 with only two families growing it. Now, 200 families in the commune are growing Canh orange on about 60ha.

The commune People's Committee chairman Doan Van Huynh said that local farmers liked growing Canh orange because of its high profit.

On average, they could earn up to VND700 million (US$32,000) per hectare per year.

He said that since 2013, Ha Noi Crop Plants Development Centre helped local farmers with farming technique which helped increase productivity and quality of orange.

Farmer Le Xuan Long of Kim An Commune in Thanh Oai District said that his family had 20 sao growing Canh orange (1 sao equals to 360sq.m), which produced about 20 tonnes of oranges this year.

With each kilo of Canh orange sold at VND50,000, Long expected to have a profit of VND500 million ($22,315) this year, he said.

Deputy director of Ha Noi agriculture department, Ngo Dai Ngoc, told Kinh te&Do thi (Economic and Urban Affairs) newspaper that local farms met only 20 per cent of fruit demand in the city.

"To better compete with those from other localities and imported fruits, Ha Noi must improve the quality of fruit products and ensure food safety," he said.

He added that it was crucial for farmers to co-operate with each other to control the farming process to ensure quality for better brand recognition.