Tra Vinh province gives swings to the Cau Ke macapuno brand to fly away

Development Strategies

Macapuno is now a very famous brand in Tra Vinh province, and Cau Ke macapuno is the most popular. It is partly thanks to the strategies and plans to build and develop the Cau Ke macapuno brand of the relevant levels, ministries, and branches, including the Tra Vinh Department of Science and Technology.

Mr. Tran Van, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology, said, "In recent times, the Department of Science and Technology has also advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Plan 71 to develop the Tra Vinh Department of Intellectual Property by 2030, including the development of geographical guidelines for Cau Ke macapuno. The purpose is to improve the prestige and reputation of the local macapuno in domestic as well as foreign markets".

According to Deputy Director Tran Van Ut Tam, apart from researching applications in the field of macapuno processing, the Department of Science and Technology has also deployed research to improve the quality and productivity of macapuno. Specifically, the Department of Science and Technology has also coordinated with the Research Institute for Oil and Oily Plants of Vietnam to select elite seedlings for breeding. At the same time, complete the process, and provide a guide for people to perform artificial pollination to increase the fruiting rate of macapuno.

Previously, the fruiting rate only reached 15-20%, but through artificial pollination, the rate can increase to 35–40% compared to the people’s traditional implementation method. In particular, the Department of Science and Technology has also coordinated with the institutes and universities to research the propagation of macapuno by embryo culture. Currently, the process is also completed and brings high efficiency.

In the current context of climate change, macapuno has proven its ability to adapt to ecological conditions in Tra Vinh province and some provinces in the Mekong Delta. In the future, especially for embryo-cultured macapuno, the demand for macapuno will increase more and more because there are now many businesses involved in macapuno processing. Faced with that need, Tra Vinh province had an orientation for building the province's macapuno raw material area.

Macapuno tree is identified as a key tree

According to Mr. Le Van Dong, Deputy Director of the Tra Vinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee have identified the macapuno tree as one of the key trees. Therefore, the provincial People's Committee approved Decision 977, dated May 31, 2022, to upgrade the coconut value chain of Tra Vinh province to the 2022–2025 period. The province also identifies macapuno as a key tree, focusing on three districts: Chau Thanh, Cau Ke, and Cang Long, and on a part of Tieu Can district, with the aim of improving the value of macapuno trees associated with tourism adapting to climate change.

It is well known that coconut trees are very adaptable to climate change. Their special ability is to withstand salinity of less than 1%. Therefore, the coastal provinces, not only Tra Vinh but especially Tra Vinh, are now converting some inefficient crops, particularly rice, to planting some types of coconut trees, including macapuno trees. The initial area is expected to reach over 500 hectares by 2025. However, due to market conditions, the total area of macapuno is currently 722 ha, exceeding the original plan by approximately 30%.

Required criteria for the raw material areas

In today's production, the linkage in the production chain plays a very important role. When participating in the macapuno processing market, businesses work with farmers to build the raw material area for macapuno according to the required criteria.

As a leading company in the field of macapuno deep processing, Cau Ke Macapuno Processing Co., Ltd. (Vicosap) has determined the importance of raw materials and raw material areas to the company. "The company has initially selected Hoa Tan Macapuno Cooperative as the raw material area to supply the company's main materials in recent times. The cooperative has obtained VietGAP certification, basically meeting the company's current selection criteria for production materials," said Mr. Tran Duy Linh, Director of Cau Ke Macapuno Processing Co., Ltd.

In addition, according to Mr. Linh, the products currently offered to export markets, especially the European market, are required to be organic. In the near future, the company will also coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to build an organic material area for this macapuno line. When we achieve organic certification, our products deeply processed with macapuno will develop more and go further, especially in markets like Europe and America.

"In terms of macapuno selection criteria, the macapuno selected to be the company’s raw materials are mostly those that are picked down at the right age and brought to the processing factory immediately. We don't leave them for more than 3–5 days. If we leave them for too long, the oil content in macapuno increases, causing the processed products to have a short preservation level or shelf life," said Director Tran Duy Linh.

Currently, Vicosap is using coconuts, which are the traditional macapuno of the Khmer people, especially the people living in Cau Ke. In the near future, the company will expand the raw material area, which can include the use of implanted macapuno to provide enough production materials.