At a field in Nghe An Province in north-central Vietnam, Ninh Binh Phosphate Fertilizer (Phan lan Ninh Binh) is working on a demonstration to reduce the topdressing amount for Queen-variety pineapple. A video article in the Vietnam Agriculture and Environment paper reported it on September 12, 2026. Using fused phosphate, the aim is to keep growth while curbing the number and amount of topdressings, and they reduced the fertilization amount from 1.2 tonnes per hectare at the first round to 0.9 tonnes from the next round on, a cut of about 25%. For Japanese canned-, dried-, and juice-product buyers who worry about both the raw-material cost and the environmental load of processing pineapple, it is a sign that the way production areas grow is changing.
The fertilizer-reduction demonstration that began in a Nghe An pineapple field
The test site is Hanh Lam commune (xa Hanh Lam), Nghe An Province. Since December 17, 2025, a demonstration using Ninh Binh Phosphate Fertilizer Joint Stock Company's fused phosphate has continued in a field of Queen-variety pineapple. Because fused phosphate dissolves slowly and is taken up by the roots, its strength is that nutrients do not wash away easily even in acidic soil. On lean red-clay hills such as Nghe An's, even if you spread a lot of fertilizer at once it tends to wash away with the rain, so slow-release materials are a good match. The case of growing pineapples on lean land under an acacia canopy as, efforts to make use of poor-condition land are advancing in various places.
From 1.2 tonnes to 0.9 tonnes: fertilization cut by 25%
According to the local farmer, the first topdressing applied 1.2 tonnes per hectare, but from the next topdressing it was held to 0.9 tonnes. In amount, a reduction of about 25%. Even so, the leaves grew thick and sturdy, and the leaf color is said to have turned a deeper green than the compared field. Because it takes effect slowly, the need to spread a lot at once disappeared.
What dropped was not only the fertilizer amount. The labor for fertilization fell by 3-4 workers, and the expenses around fertilization also dropped by about 1 million dong (1 yen = about 170 VND, about 5,900 yen as of September 2026). It may look like a small amount, but it adds up as area and number of rounds accumulate.
| Item | Before the demonstration / first round | After the demonstration / next round on |
|---|---|---|
| Topdressing amount per ha | 1.2 tonnes | 0.9 tonnes (about 25% less) |
| Labor for fertilization | As before | Reduction of 3-4 workers |
| Expenses around fertilization | As before | Reduction of about 1 million dong (about 5,900 yen) |
| Growth | Compared field | Leaves thick and deep green, slow-release and healthy |
As a raw material for processing pineapple, the points Japan should care about
Nghe An Province is known in Vietnam as a production area for processing pineapple, and the Queen variety is small with high sugar content, suited as a raw material for canned, dried, and concentrated juice. Japan imports pineapple in large quantities not only fresh but as canned, cut, dried, and juice raw material, and the production area's cultivation cost and sustainability bounce back onto the price and sourcing stability of processed products.
A production area where fertilizer reduction advances works to the sourcing side's benefit in two senses. One is raw-material cost: if fertilization amount and labor decrease, the rise in cultivation cost is easier to hold down. The other is the environmental side: a production area that can reduce fertilizer input becomes explanatory material for the environmental consideration the import side is asked about. Because processing pineapple's flesh firmness and sugar content in canned and dried forms shape the finish, stable fertilization design also works on the uniformity of final quality.
Nghe An Province sits inland in the north-central region, with acidic soil spreading across hilly land. Under these land conditions, the more water-soluble fertilizer you spread, the more it washes away with the rain, tending to fall into a vicious circle where only costs mount. If slow-release fused phosphate can keep growth while holding down the fertilization amount, it can be applied to other pineapple production areas that hold lean land. For the Japanese side wanting to secure raw material cheaply and stably, the spread of fertilization design suited to the production area's soil makes it easier to draw up long-term sourcing plans.
Reducing input while keeping quality: the current of production-area improvement
Attempts to keep growth and quality while reducing input materials are spreading across Vietnam's production areas. On lean land and steep slopes, how to grow crops with as little input as possible is a challenge that shapes a production area's sustainability. In Lao Cai, crop conversion reduced topsoil runoff on steep slopes by 46.7% as, the design of input and soil decides a production area's lifespan. Fertilizer reduction and labor saving connect directly not to mere cost reduction but to whether a production area can keep putting out raw material for a long time.
At our company Agriture too, while handling raw materials for dried fruit, we have seen many times how a production area's cultivation management decides variation in final quality. Production areas with stable fertilization design tend to have uniform raw-material sugar content and size, making the yield of drying and processing easy to read.
Points that can be read from the production-area structure
Even holding topdressing from 1.2 tonnes to 0.9 tonnes, the leaves' firmness does not fall and the number of spreadings also drops. This result is straightforwardly explained by the material property that slow-release fused phosphate retains nutrients even in acidic soil.
For fertilizer makers, a material suited to pineapple cultivation in acidic soil becomes a foothold for lateral expansion to other production areas that hold lean land. A fertilization design that works on Nghe An's hills can be applied to production areas with the same soil conditions.
From the position of importing processing raw material, it is prudent not to judge on a single year's demonstration alone but to wait one season until yield and fruit-quality data are in before entrusting volume. The order is to confirm that fertilizer reduction does not shake final quality, then build it into the sourcing plan.
Data to confirm next
If you follow this production-area trend, you want to confirm the following points. First, whether yield and the fruit's sugar content and size after fertilizer reduction hold at the previous year's level. Second, whether the demonstration spreads from a single field to the whole production area. Third, how far the reduction in cultivation cost is reflected in the final raw-material price.
In sourcing processing pineapple, it is realistic to first have the counterparty disclose the production area's cultivation-management records and confirm the fertilizer-reduction and labor-saving efforts with one season's worth of figures. A production area where quality does not shake even with reduced input is worth building a relationship with early as a stable raw-material supply source.
References: Nong nghiep va Moi truong, "Phan lan Ninh Binh ben duyen cay dua xu Nghe" (September 12, 2026)
