January 18, 2023
BÌNH ThuẬN — Trần Thị Kim Lĩnh, a resident of Bình Thuận province in Việt Nam, has achieved great success in the dragon fruit industry. Known as the “capital” of dragon fruit production in the country, Lĩnh has developed a thriving business centered around this exotic fruit.
Lĩnh, 31, lives in Phú An Street, Phú Long Town, Hàm Thuận Bắc District.
In 2010, the price of dragon fruit fell sharply to only 200 VNĐ (8 US cents) per kilogram, but local traders still found no buyers. They had to give up their shares.
Lena’s family is poor and her father is sick.
Lina’s mother only counts on selling dragon fruits to support her family with two children.
However, the dragon fruit was not marketable and his family was in trouble.
Every time Lene saw the sweat and tears rolling down her mother’s tanned face or the dragon fruit spilled along the road, she wished she could do something to help her mother and the local farmers.
Lĩnh was a first-year student in the Faculty of Technology at Bình Thuận Community College when he began researching and processing fresh dragon fruit beverage products.
After nearly 20 failures, Lene felt discouraged, but with determination and perseverance, her first product – a natural fermented dragon fruit juice – became a success.
But he was a student and his family was poor, so he couldn’t develop this product.
Lĩnh did not stop studying while working and processing raw products for sale.
Lene said that in order to produce a quality product, the first requirement is that the ingredients must be clean, without pesticide residues and of known origin.
Lĩnh contacted organic dragon fruit cooperatives in the area to source his ingredients immediately after harvest.
Then the dragon fruit is washed, peeled and cut into small pieces.
After that, it is mixed with sugar and fermented for 30-45 days depending on the weather.
To realize his dream, in September 2019, Bảo Long Bình Thuận Production-Trade-Service Company, owned by Lĩnh, was established.
Its main product is naturally fermented drinks made from dragon fruits.
This product maintains its freshness and beautiful color with the criteria of “clean, safe, without preservatives, without color and at a reasonable price”.
On average, eight kilograms of fresh fruit produce one liter of fermented water.
Every year, Lĩnh company supplies more than 45,000 liters of dragon fruit juice of various types, equivalent to about 3,000-5,000 liters per month.
The amount of freshly consumed dragon fruit is also relatively high.
In the early days of its establishment, Lĩnh company faced many problems and challenges, especially in the financial field.
In order to build a workshop and buy equipment for production, Lina and his wife had to borrow more than 300 million VND ($12,900) from their relatives and acquaintances.
After nearly three years, the company began to gain a foothold in the market.
So far, it has 29 distribution agencies across the country and is available on e-commerce platforms.
The products have stable quality and reasonable prices that guarantee food hygiene and safety.
Last year, dragon fruit juice with natural fermentation received the certificate of rural model industrial products at the provincial level. It received the One Commune One Product (OCOP) certification with a four-star rating in 2021 and won the third prize of the Innovation Startup Competition in Bình Thuận Province in 2020-21.
In his entrepreneurial journey, Lĩnh received the Lương Định Của award last year. This award is given by the Central Committee of the HCM Youth Union to outstanding and ordinary young farmers.
Thái Thành Bi, deputy secretary of the Youth Union of Bình Thuận Province, said Lĩnh is a typical example of young people starting businesses in the agricultural sector.
He has made many innovations, applied science and technology to process and improve product value.
In addition to her passion for manufacturing, Lena actively participated in local volunteer activities.
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, he prepared meals to serve the frontline troops and donate them to the poor and hospitals.
From the success of natural fermented dragon fruit juice, Lĩnh continues his research and produces 13 other dragon fruit products such as wine, syrup, jam, marshmallow and jelly.
He helped reduce the consumption pressure of fresh dragon fruit for producers and helped improve its economic value.
I always like this saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone.” If you want to go far, go together.” Lĩnh plans to establish a cooperative specializing in dragon fruit products.
This cooperative gathers young people who are interested in startups. – VNS
