Vietnam’s northern province of Son La will export mangoes to Australia for the first time in May, according to the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The department has recently worked with the provincial People’s Committee to build a coordination programme with Agricare Vietnam Co., Ltd to grant codes to areas growing mangoes for export and to implement irradiation services.
Director of the department’s plant quarantine centre Le Nhat Thanh said his centre will work with the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to hold a training course for farmers and provide codes for Yen Chau and Mai Son districts to export mangoes to Australia.
Mangoes exported to Australia must undergo irradiation.
Two batches of mangoes (each about 10 tonnes) will be exported to the market at the end of May.
Mangoes purchased by businesses for export normally cost 15-20 percent higher than others.
Son La is home to more than 4,000 hectares of mangoes, hundreds of which use the Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice (VietGap).
Agricare Vietnam Co., Ltd mainly buys mangoes from southern provinces for export. This is the first time the company has purchased mangoes in the north for export.
Son La mangoes have been sent to Australian partners and received good feedback.
The local mangoes will be packaged and transported to Hanoi for irradiation before being sold to Australia.
Apart from round-shaped mangoes, local farmers are expanding areas for hybrid mangoes in Yen Chau, Moc Chau and Mai Son districts. The potential for exporting mangoes to foreign markets is huge.
The Plant Protection Department is also working with local authorities to grant codes for longan areas in Song Ma district, which has some 6,000 hectares of longans.
Since 2016, the province asked the department to help businesses build a brand name for Son La longans for exports in 2018.