(VOVworld)- Cao Phong village in the northern province of Hoa Binh is famous for its natural beauty and for oranges of great quality that have significantly boosted local incomes. Cao Phong villagers are seeking ways to build a protected trademark for their oranges while also developing cultural tourism and eco-tourism models.

Hoa Binh provincial leaders visit orange gardens in Cao Phong village

Visitors to Cao Phong village, about 70 km from Hanoi, will see immense groves of oranges along the village road. Cao Phong oranges originated from the central province of Nghe An, home of the famous “sanh” orange, some decades ago. Productivity increased rapidly thanks to Cao Phong’s wonderful climate and soil. But orange really took off in the 1980s thanks to a crop restructure plan of local authorities. By protecting the prestige of their product, Cao Phong authorities hope to boost local profits from growing oranges. Chairman of Cao Phong district Nguyen Hong Thuy said: "We have cooperated with relevant agencies to devise plans to develop this special local fruit. Although investment capital for these projects remains modest, this is a good way for us to transfer technologies in growing oranges to the local cadres and people."
Thanks to the trade, many families in Cao Phong village have become well-off. Tran Thi Nui and her family own one hectare of oranges, which produces 30 tonnes of oranges worth 20,000 USD annually. Like many other families in Cao Phong village, their top concern now is to build a protected trademark for their oranges. Ms. Nui told us: "Our oranges are of high quality but we still cannot sell them at prices as high as other localities, because we don’t have a recognized brand name in the market. We need to develop our own trademark to make our products more competitive."
Building a protected trademark and seeking additional markets for Cao Phong oranges are key tasks of the Cao Phong authorities. Deputy chairman of Cao Phong district Vu Dinh Viet said: "The process of building a trademark for Cao Phong oranges involves a lot of steps. For consumers to recognize our trademark, we have to ensure recognizable packaging products free of chemical substances, and consistent processing"
Cao Phong village now devotes 700 hectares to grow oranges. It produced nearly 10,000 tonnes of oranges last year, earning revenues of approximately 4.5 million USD.