The Fruit Republic focussing on limes and dragon fruit as well as pomelo's

Siebe van Wijk, from Holland, founded 'The Fruit Republic' a number of years ago, a company that has grown to be one of the biggest fruit exporting companies in Vietnam. The company recently opened Vietnam's first professional packaging station with 4,000 m² of cooling space, including a fresh cut department spanning 1000 m². "In the last period the domestic demand for pomelo was much bigger than the supply which meant that buying prices were at record heights, which made it difficult to export pomelos," says Siebe. "In Vietnam a consumer wants a pomelo during the Vietnamese New Year, no matter how high the price. Although pomelos are popular in various countries in Europe during the winter season, there is a limit on what people are willing to pay."

The Vietnamese New Year in particular was an occasion for many Vietnamese people to buy pomelos in large numbers. They are not only used for consumption, but also for offering at the altar. "This hugely increased demand. In the last two years farmers have started growing more oranges, at the expense of the pomelo area, which meant there really was a shortage in January/February this year. Many growers even harvested pomelos that weren't really ripe, which means there are less pomelos available at the moment. We are doing everything we can to ensure our regular clients have enough produce," says Siebe. "But after the last two months, no pomelo farmer will even think about cutting down a pomelo tree. There will be a much better balance in the January/February period next year."

"The quality and taste of the Vietnamese pomelos is very good. The start of the next harvest has been planned, and we expect to be able to make good programmes for retailers and trading companies in the Far East, Western Europe and Russia from the beginning of April until the beginning of September. Besides the export, the home supermarkets are the most important sales channels for us, as people there believe that GlobalGAP and HACCP certifications are very important. This has no value on the domestic wholesale market, and so we can't add as much value," continues Siebe. "Due to our new hall with good cooling equipment we can offer two other good exotics to our export customers besides pomelo: seedless lime and dragon fruit. These products can also be supplied all year round and give supermarket chains the chance to get a good exotics package on their shelves easily, under the same brand."

The fresh cut pomelos are also being sold easily from The Fruit Republic. "We already provide many supermarket chains in Vietnam, Asian mega cities and the Middle East with fresh cut pomelos, and, on request of our customers, we have also taken fresh cut pineapple and added it into the package," concludes Siebe. "Another example of a customer who fits into our ambition level, is a company that makes meals for all airlines in Vietnam. We supply them with a large fresh cut package every day, 365 days a year. Their quality demands in hygiene, product quality and certifying are at a West European level, which we can meet. Due to the growing demand for our pomelos we are hard at work extending our productions towards the next season."