Noni fruit to sprout new industry
Noni fruit to sprout new industry
Noni fruit may be the basis for a whole new industry in the future due to keen interest shown by both local people and foreign businesses in beginning plantations for juice production.
Many local farmers and foreign investors have expressed their interest in developing Mak Yor (noni fruit) plantations to supply a Vientiane noni juice producer, known as Thipsavang, in Phonsavang village, Chanthabouly district.
“There have been about 20 people, including locals and foreigners, who have talked to me about noni fruit tree plantations,” the noni juice producer, Ms Buathip Homchandee, said on Wednesday.
The foreigners include businesses from China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.
“However I have yet to make any agreement with them because I have to wait and see the juice purchasing requirements of a Chinese buyer,” Ms Buathip said.
Many people want to plant the fruit and supply it after they have seen noni juice becoming popular locally and the major Chinese import company will also buy the product in large quantities in the near future.
Ms Buathip said currently there are only two farms in the Pakngum and Xaythany districts of Vientiane that plant the trees and supply the fruit to her.
She supplies the noni saplings to the growers and says the tree is easy to plant. Currently she buys the fruit from the growers at a cost of at least 3,000 kip per kg.
The farm in Pakngum is located on about 7 to 8 hectares and other in Xaythany is about 3 to 4 hectares.
Ms Buathip said the Pakngum farm was able to harvest fruit after five years of the plantation and the Xaythany farm would begin the yield soon.
“I am also preparing to plant noni fruit trees on my own 20 hectares of land in Naxaithong district of Vientiane. The project is now clearing the land and also preparing more than 5,000 noni saplings,” Ms Buathip said.
“Once the Chinese buyer starts to officially purchase the juice in large quantities from me, then I will have agreements with the people who want to plant the noni trees to supply me the fruit to increase production,” she said.
A major Chinese import company will purchase Lao-made Nam Mak Yor, or noni juice after the two parties, Ms Buathip and the company, negotiated an initial trade cooperation agreement at the 10th China Asean EXPO in China last year.
“The official purchase may start within the next few months,” she said.
“According to the agreement the Chinese company wants to be the only supplier of my juice product in China. It wants to buy all the noni juice my production capacity allows me to supply”.
The fresh juice will be processed and repackaged in China. The buyer likes her products because they are still fresh and have a natural flavour and smell.
Noni juice is a One District One Product certified item made in Vientiane and the buyer was looking to pioneer the product in China.
The noni fruit is known to provide many health benefits and it contains vitamin C, calcium, protein, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene and all of the B vitamins. It has a strong smell and a bitter taste but has nutritional value.
Among the ailments some claim the juice can help with are headaches, migraines, menstrual pain and arthritis, cancer symptoms and high blood pressure.
It is also said to enhance the body's immune system, thus warding off diseases, colds and flu.
It is an unusual-looking fruit that resembles a hand grenade with its lumpy texture. It grows in tropical locations on an evergreen shrub that bears the fruit year-round.
vientiane times
