Vietnam’s Avocado Industry in the Eyes of Yhaska Ginsberg

More and more people are loving avocados because of its nutritional value and for this reason, avocado farming businesses are thriving. Yhaska Ginsberg, owner of Avocado Express, shares with us how he started this venture and his vision for Vietnam’s premium avocado industry.

 

Avocados for the Health-Obsessed Market

Due to various health benefits, the demand for avocados has dramatically increased as more consumers become more aware and concerned about their health. It even gained the distinction the most perfect food in the world for it has the essential nutrients that a person would need.

And while its nutritional value can be very attractive for the health-obsessed market, the physical appearance of this fruit is a bit on the opposite with its bumpy skin is a little similar to that of an alligator, hence being called the “alligator pear”.

 

All the Essential Nutrition You Need

So what does an avocado fruit contain that makes it the best choice for those who are in need of good nutrition? It has copper, iron, zinc, phosphorous, folate, potassium, magnesium, manganese and vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B6, C, E and K just to name a few. With that being said, it’s like you’re already taking several supplements naturally!

As we just mentioned, avocados are rich in potassium but what’s actually surprising is that this fruit has more of this essential mineral as compared to bananas. If you’re not aware of its benefits, a regular intake of potassium helps in lowering down blood pressure and keeping bodily functions normal so if you’re going to need more potassium intake then it would be better to include more avocados in your diet rather than bananas.

But wait, there’s more. Avocados are also known to be among the fattiest plant food in the world. As compared to other fruits that are usually rich in carbohydrates, avocados will supply your body with lots of fats, particularly the good ones so these are not the bad fats that you’d normally get from eating donuts, cupcakes, fried chicken and anything that you’ll order from a fast-food chain. These are called monounsaturated fats and one of them is specifically oleic acid, which is clinically proven to aid in reducing inflammation.

 

The Green Gold that is the Avocado

These times, people have become very health-conscious and the awareness has been further amplified because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. All of these have contributed to the growth of the avocado farming industry, which is predicted by market analysts to post a 6% compound annual growth rate or CAGR from 2020 to 2024.

And this is why entrepreneur Yhaska Ginsberg saw the opportunity in starting an avocado nursery orchard in northern region Vietnam. These are not just the regular avocados that you can buy at the local market but rather are of premium quality that are in-demand for export to other countries.

Entrepreneur Yhaska Ginsberg

Ginsberg realized that Vietnam has the ideal climate and soil quality for establishing his avocado farm, and what makes his nursery orchard different from the rest is that they have cultivars that have never been commercially grown there locally. This includes the Hass avocado, which is perhaps the world’s most popular cultivar.

 

Growing Avocados Take Time

If you’re planning to establish an avocado farming business then you need to be aware that you will have to face a lot of challenges. One of which is that you will have to wait for at least 4 or 5 years before you can start harvesting fruits. This is one of the primary reasons why the locals prefer rice farming because it only takes just a few months to harvest them as compared to avocados. Another reason why local farmers don’t prefer growing avocados is that the most common cultivars that are sold in the market are not the ones that are of export quality.

 

You also need to consider irrigation. Avocados require a lot of water to maintain and these are more demanding than other fruit-bearing trees. Ginsberg decided to establish his farm in Vietnam due to the fact that the country normally experiences seasonal rains and this dramatically lowers the costs.

 

New Avocado Farming Technology

Ginsberg’s nursery orchard is also utilizing an innovative farming technology that has never been used in Vietnam. Via this method, they are capable enhancing the purest cultivars that can bear fruits with consistency in color, size and taste so that they can have the premium qualities that are needed for exporting. This method were used agricultural experts from Israel and Australia which were initially tested on apples and have been proven to be effective.

Yhaska Ginsberg with Mary Lu Arpaia

Ginsberg learned of this technology from subtropical horticulturist Mary Lu Arpaia that he met in South Africa while he was attending a conference there. Arpaia developed a pioneering breeding program that enhances avocados so they can achieve the same qualities as that of the Hass cultivars and the advantage of this program is that the costs are much lower as compared to other farming technologies.

 

The Gold in Green Gold

Global consumption of avocados is expected to grow further for years to come as more and more consumers become health-conscious. In fact, the COVID-19 global pandemic has raised awareness for people to become more attentive to their health and one of the easiest and most convenient way to do this is by eating nutritious food like avocados.

 

According to Ginsberg, if China and India will start embracing eating avocados, the whole world will not have enough avocado to grow for the next 15 years to supply the market and keep up with the demand. This constantly increasing demand opens many opportunities for avocado farming businesses and one of which is Ginsberg’s farm, which sits on a massive 10,000-hectare land that currently employs around 50 people.

 

As of this writing, the orchard has already planted over 50,000 trees and the good news is that they are importing 50,000 more from Israel. Ginsberg’s target is that after 7 years, the farm has further expanded and that they have planted over a million trees by then. His vision for Vietnam to be among the top avocado exporters in Asia and to provide the high quality cultivars in several countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan.