{"id":1299,"date":"2026-07-04T23:33:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T14:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-agri.com\/?post_type=industry_news&p=1299"},"modified":"2026-07-04T23:33:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T14:33:23","slug":"hatinh-korean-melon","status":"publish","type":"industry_news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-agri.com\/en\/industry_news\/hatinh-korean-melon\/","title":{"rendered":"Three crops a year on 500 m2 for 200\u2013300 million dong in profit: how Ha Tinh's \"Korean melon\" makes money"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Tien Dien commune, Ha Tinh province, central Vietnam, a Korean-melon farmer who earns a profit of 200 million to 300 million dong a year (at 1 yen \u2248 163 dong, roughly 1.23 million to 1.84 million yen) from a greenhouse of just 500 square meters is drawing attention. The operator is Nguyen Thi Minh Nhat. She made the leap from netted melon (muskmelon type) to the Korean 'pear melon,' and grew revenue by turning over a small area three crops a year. A central-region producer without wide farmland can still reach per-unit-area returns on par with fruit trees through variety choice and facility use\u2014this one example is material for Japanese importing buyers and those considering producing-area tie-ups to gauge how far Vietnamese protected horticulture has come.<\/p>\n

Turning over 500 \u33a1 three crops a year: Ha Tinh's Korean melon<\/h2>\n

It was reported by the agriculture-and-environment media nongnghiepmoitruong.vn. At the 'Tien Dien Village High-Tech Vegetable Production Center' that Ms. Nhat runs, about 3,000 plants are set in a 500-square-meter greenhouse, and melons are grown by hydroponics over an organic medium. The crop is the yellow 'pear melon (dua le Han Quoc)' widely eaten in Korea.<\/p>\n

The cultivation period from sowing to harvest is 60\u201370 days. Repeating this three crops a year, each crop harvests about 4 tonnes. The orchard-gate purchase price is 35,000\u201340,000 dong per kilogram (by the same conversion, roughly 215\u2013245 yen), and one crop's sales are roughly 140 million\u2013160 million dong. After deducting expenses, annual profit comes to 200 million\u2013300 million dong. A 'turnover-type' way of earning, repeatedly cycling a small area on short cycles, underpins these figures.<\/p>\n

The switch from netted melon and its background<\/h2>\n

What is worth noting in this case is that Ms. Nhat 'switched crops' from conventional netted melon to Korean melon. According to reporting from Ha Tinh province's agricultural-extension-center channels, she first began trial cultivation in a greenhouse of roughly 1,000 square meters, and expanded planting after confirming adaptation to the local climate and soil and the cultivation technique. The variety is a Korean yellow melon, and the seedlings are procured from a supplier in Hai Phong.<\/p>\n

The central region is not blessed with the vast flatlands of the southern Mekong Delta, and cultivated land per household is limited. That is precisely why there is a way forward in 'raising per-unit-area added value' rather than 'widening area to earn.' Not open-field low-unit-price vegetables, but greenhouse + hydroponics to stabilize quality and focus on high-unit-price Korean melon\u2014it can be called a choice that turns the area constraint to advantage.<\/p>\n

The 'turnover-type' revenue structure in numbers<\/h2>\n

Organizing the reporting-based figures brings this case's revenue structure into view. Note that annual crop counts and profit amounts vary by outlet; below, the figures from the originating nongnghiepmoitruong.vn are used as the axis, with other outlets' reported values noted alongside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Item<\/th>\nReported value (approx.)<\/th>\nYen equivalent (1 yen \u2248 163 dong)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Greenhouse area<\/td>\n500\u33a1<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plants set<\/td>\nabout 3,000 plants<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cultivation period<\/td>\n60\u201370 days per crop<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Annual cropping<\/td>\n3 crops (*other outlets report 2 crops)<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yield per crop<\/td>\nAbout 4 tonnes<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Purchase price<\/td>\n35,000\u201340,000 dong\/kg<\/td>\nabout 215\u2013245 yen\/kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sales per crop<\/td>\nabout 140 million\u2013160 million dong<\/td>\nabout 860,000\u2013980,000 yen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Annual profit<\/td>\n200 million\u2013300 million dong (*other outlets report 200 million\u2013250 million)<\/td>\nabout 1.23 million\u20131.84 million yen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Because high-unit-price fruit-vegetables are turned over on short cycles, per-unit-area returns soar well above open-field leafy greens for the same greenhouse area. It is a design that recovers the initial investment in the greenhouse and hydroponic equipment through several crops a year of turnover.<\/p>\n

Technique: organic medium, drip irrigation, fruit thinning<\/h2>\n

The cultivation is underpinned by a combination of several basic techniques. According to the responsible technician, an organic medium blended from treated raw materials is used to suppress pathogens, and automatic drip irrigation supplies water and fertilizer in stages. Fertilization combines organic fertilizer and NPK, and biological pesticides are used for control.<\/p>\n

Manual work to raise fruit quality is also essential. Artificial pollination is performed and fruit is thinned to 2\u20133 per plant, securing uniformity of sugar content and size. Because greenhouse cultivation itself reduces pest intrusion, it suits management that does not over-rely on pesticides. Two or three workers are employed at all times, a scale that can be run by a small team. Local authorities rate this effort as a model case of advanced agriculture applying science and technology.<\/p>\n

How the locals and the producing area receive it<\/h2>\n

Local reporting and the voices of those involved reveal several receptions. First, a positive assessment of the demonstration that high returns are achievable even on a small area. A local district official positions it as 'a model exemplary in the application of science and technology' and comments that it is a promising direction for spreading high-tech agriculture.<\/p>\n

Second, the point that sales channels are thickly rooted within the region. Ms. Nhat's melons flow to local vegetable retailers, supermarkets, directly purchasing customers, and distributors within the province, and are absorbed by high-value domestic demand without waiting for export. Third, there is also caution about the hurdle of switching. The course of expanding scale step by step from trial cultivation shows a steady approach that confirms variety adaptation rather than switching everything over at once. It looks set to become a realistic model for producers under similar conditions in central Vietnam to follow.<\/p>\n

Implications seen from Japanese import and producing-area tie-ups<\/h2>\n

This case is rich in implication for Japanese practitioners too. First, Vietnam's protected horticulture is beginning to mature not only along the axis of 'wide fields for mass production' but along another axis of 'small area, high turnover, high unit price.' The lead in export to Japan will continue to be tropical fruits such as durian, lychee, and passion fruit, but beneath that, a layer of small-scale high-tech farmers who have accumulated hydroponics know-how is growing. When looking for partners in processing raw materials or contract cultivation, this layer can be a candidate with a base in quality management.<\/p>\n

Next, the meaning of choosing a Korean-lineage variety. A system that can produce, several crops a year in Vietnam's climate, the yellow pear melon familiar to East Asian consumers makes one imagine future regional distribution and an expansion of processing uses. From the perspective of Japan's drying and processing business, it is worth considering not only export as fresh fruit but the idea of directing off-grade or surplus to drying, puree, and the like. How far the producing area's value-adding advances gains resolution when viewed together with branding moves like a Da Nang maker who sells ingredients with a 'story'<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ripple to the market and industry<\/h2>\n

Vietnam's agriculture is shifting its footing from a stage where producing areas ship raw materials as is, to one where they process and add value before shipping. As seen in the launch of fruit-processing clusters<\/a>, producing-area building that includes 'how to deliver,' not just 'make and done,' is advancing in many places. This Korean melon is one example, within that trend, showing that 'even small scale can earn with facilities and variety choice.'<\/p>\n

At the same time, such clusters of high-tech small-scale farmers may connect to moves like a 'billionaire farmers club'-type movement<\/a> in which producers earning hundreds of millions of dong a year share technique. If communities that open technique rather than hoard it spread, the whole producing area is lifted, and for Japanese buyers the options for negotiating partners increase too. Whether the Japanese side can propose a processing and export outlet while high-unit-price fruit-vegetables are circulating on domestic demand will shape how it engages.<\/p>\n

Practical notes: points to watch<\/h2>\n

Here are the points to confirm when engaging with central Vietnam's high-tech small-scale farmers.<\/p>\n