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“Due to its suitability to the climate and soil characteristics of the Cau Ke area, the coconut tree has produced wax fruit, becoming a specialty only found in Tra Vinh,” the Chairman of the Tra Vinh Provincial People’s Committee shared.
On the evening of August 25, in Cau Ke town, Cau Ke district, the People’s Committee of Tra Vinh province held the opening ceremony of the 100-year Tra Vinh Sap Coconut Festival. Although the ceremony took place in the pouring rain, it attracted a large number of tourists and locals to watch live.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Le Van Han, Chairman of Tra Vinh Provincial People’s Committee, said that wax coconut appeared in Tra Vinh exactly 100 years ago. According to documents, in 1924, Venerable Thach So brought this coconut variety from abroad to plant at Bo Tum Sa Co Pagoda (Cho Pagoda) in Cau Ke District.
“Due to the special climate and soil of the Cau Ke area, the coconut tree has produced wax fruit, becoming a specialty only found in Tra Vinh. In terms of appearance, wax coconut is similar to other normal coconuts, however, inside the layer of thick, soft, and flexible wax coconut meat occupies almost the entire fruit with a little bit of thick coconut water,” said Mr. Han.
The Chairman of the Tra Vinh Provincial People’s Committee added that wax coconut is a crop with high economic value, occupying a large area in Cau Ke district. Wax coconut is processed into many delicious dishes that have become widely known “with a unique flavor that when enjoyed will make diners remember forever”.
The first wax coconut tree in Vietnam is now dead and is worshiped in Cho Pagoda (Photo: Nguyen Cuong).
Currently, Tra Vinh province has nearly 1,300 hectares of wax coconut gardens. According to the Strategy for upgrading the coconut value chain in the period of 2022 – 2025, Tra Vinh province will develop an additional 550 hectares of specialty wax coconut, planning planting areas and production in the direction of organic and VietGAP.
The province will invest in infrastructure for coconut growing areas, applying technology to the breeding, production and processing processes.
The 100-year Wax Coconut Festival lasts 7 days (August 25-31).
The festival takes place with a series of attractive activities such as fireworks, lion dance, folk games, Ong Bon worship, specialty fruit stalls including many wax coconut stalls, wax coconut food processing contest and culinary space, trade fair…
Wax coconut is characterized by soft, thick, fragrant, fatty flesh (Photo: Contributor).
Tra Vinh province hopes that through the event, the value of wax coconut and the Vu Lan Thang Hoi festival will be promoted to visitors from near and far, attracting tourists and investors to the locality, expanding the market for the province’s products.