Phuc Trach Pomelo - Vietnam: in Vietnam, there are many tasty varieties of grapefruit. Ordinarily, the grapefruit is named for the locality where it is grown. For example, in the North, there is the Doan Hung grapefruit (Phu Tho Province), in the Central there is the Phuc Trach grapefruit (Ha Tinh Province), and in the South there is the Tan Trieu grapefruit (Bien Hoa Province).

Each variety has a unique taste. The Phuc Trach grapefruit has the distinguishable sweet taste of the glucose that is dissolved in the fruit and a fresh taste that slightly permeates your body and makes your spirit light.

This kind of big grapefruit is cultivated in Phuc Trach, Huong Trach, Huong Do and Loc Yen communes of Huong Khe District. The tree is said to appear in Phuc Trach Commune about 200 years ago. At the moment, about 1,600 hectares in the district are devoted to growing this tree.

The Phuc Trach pomelo (Citrus grandis Osbeck) is a perennial. From its sixth year of growth, the tree gives about 90-120 fruits in a season. It yields the most at the age of 11-15. The older a tree is, the tastier its fruit is. This tree gives fruit from the seventh to the ninth lunar months of each year.

Phuc Trach pomelos have round fruits. With yellow-green peel and a weight of about 1-1.5 kilograms, each fruit has 14-16 segments. Its flesh is pink. The flesh contains a lot of juice and is crispy. It is sweet and a bit pungent but not sour nor bitter. However, the fruit is not as good if the tree is grown elsewhere.

Because of its fame, the Phuc Trach pomelo has become the object of a project for preserving and developing its genes. The Vietnam Friendship Association, a non-governmental organization in France, in coordination with the district and commune governments, established a project for preserving and developing the Phuc Trach pomelo breed in mid-2004. The association had Can Tho University's agriculture experts study Huong Khe's natural conditions for more than two months, and then sent officials from the district, communes, seedling centers and good farmers to the university to learn about growing the grapefruit.

In early 2005, the association selected in the four communes about 100 households that each had 50-100 trees to join the project. In this project, the association not only provides farmers with fertilizers, pesticides and techniques but also consumes all their produces through its own Dong Nam Production, Trading and Services Co. Ltd.

Other good news is that the Huong Khe Farmers Association was granted a trademark certificate for the Phuc Trach pomelo in September 2004 by the Vietnam Office of Intellectual Property Rights.

Pomelos with the Buoi Phuc Trach trademark were officially introduced the first time by Dong Nam Co. at a pomelo festival held in HCM City from September 15-17. At this event, hundreds of fruits were sold to guests and customers.