Dong Thap promotes fruit exports

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards have been applied for the cultivation of mangos, mostly Cat Hoa Loc and Cat Chu mangos, in nearly 9,000 hectares of land in Cao Lanh district.

Some 100-200 tonnes of mangos are exported to Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea (RoK) every month. Traders pay VND3,000-VND5,000 higher for each kilogram of certified mangoes than for normal mangoes.

Of the total 3,300 hectares of longan in Chau Thanh district, nearly 1,000 hectares are under Edor longan, with seeds imported from Thailand that provide farmers with a significantly higher yield than other varieties. The Chau Thanh Longan Co-operative has provided exporters with more than 300 tonnes of standardised Edor longan for shipment to the US. Applying VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards is necessary to penetrate longan into this demanding market.

Every year, farmers earned revenue of VND500-VND700 million (US$22,420-US$31,390) from each hectare of longan orchard a year.

In addition, red flesh dragon fruit and lemon are among the province’s potential fruit exports. The In Jea Group from the RoK agreed to purchase 80 tonnes of lemons in Cao Lanh district at VND12,000-VND20,000 (US$0.54-US$0.89) per kilogramme while red flesh dragon fruit in Chau Thanh district is exported to China at VND25,000-VND35,000 (US$1.12-US$1.56) per kilogramme.