Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) –The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giangexported more than 10,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables for more than 17million USD in 2018, higher than that in the previous years in both volume andvalue.
Many TienGiangfruits, including mango, dragon fruit, rambutan, star apple and grapefruit,have entered choosy markets.
Notably,along with the Chinese market, Tien Giang’s dragon fruits were sold in the US.Currently, the province’s total dragon fruit farming area exceeds 5,000hectares.
CaoVan Hien, a farmer from My TinhAn dragon fruit co-operative in My Tinh Ancommune, said that to be accepted in the US market, dragon fruits must meetGlobalGAP standards, and this requires the farm to apply advanced technologyand strictly follow safe cultivation process, leaving no chemical contaminationon the fruit.
Alongwith dragon fruits, Lo Ren star apples originated from Chau Thanh, Cai Laydistricts and Cai Lay town have also received a code to be exported to the US.
Inrecent years, the area of fruit farms in southern localities has risen sharplyat about 4.2 percent per year.
In2018, regional localities had 596,331 hectares of fruit farms, accounting for60 percent of the country’s total fruit areas, with production topping 6.6million tonnes, equivalent to 67 percent of the country’s output.
TheMekong Delta region is a major fruit production hub with about 58 percent ofthe southern region’s fruit farming area.
NguyenThanh Vinh, Vice President of the Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives ofTien Giang, said the potential for fruit exports in the region is high, but fruitquality is lacking.
Headvised farmers to apply GAP standards, while strictly controlling diseases, thusturning out products that meet requirements of choosy markets such as the USand the EU.-VNA
VNA
