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More and more Vietnamese fruits going abroad
Vietnamese fruits have been gradually conquering difficult-to-please markets including the US, Russia and European countries.
Vietnamese canned pineapple, Nam Roi pomelo, in addition to Binh Thuan blue dragon, Ben Tre pomelo with green skin, rambutan and star apple are being exported to the world.
Dam Van Hung, the owner of a fruit distribution centre in Phuoc My Trung commune in Mo Cay, Ben Tre province, on September 3 related that he and his staffs were planning to export 10 tonnes of pomelo with green skin to Germany. Hung said that Ben Tre pomelo price has been increasing steadily with more and more orders placed by foreign importers.
Several years ago, Vinh Long’s Nam Roi pomelo was considered the ‘king’ of fruits in Cuu Long River Delta; however, pomelo with green skin has become the new king. On September 3, pomelo was traded at VND15,000/kg.
Hung related that the high quality and delicious taste have been recognised by European consumers. In 2007, Hung exported 50 tonnes of pomelo with green skin to Germany through CPR Company. The exports have soared to 80 tonnes in the last eight months, and are expected to reach over 100 tonnes by the end of the year.
“Clients have placed big orders. They need 50 tonnes a month, but I cannot fulfill such a big order,” Hung said.
Tran Anh Dung in My Thanh An commune also said that the demand for pomelo with green skin is very big. However, as there is no company which collects pomelo from farmers and exports, traders in the region have to do the export themselves. Dung related that a client from Germany came directly to his farm, chose a pomelo, packaged it and then carried it to Germany himself. The client has recently purchased two tonnes of pomelo and then exported them to the Czech Republic.
Hung affirmed that the price of pomelo with green skin never drops below VND12,000/kg. On September 2-3, while other types of pomelo decreased in prices, the pomelo with green skin still increased by VND500-1,000/kg to VND14-15,000/kg as the purchasing power was very high in both the domestic and world’s markets.
Hung said that he provides 3 tonnes of pomelo with green skin to Hanoi, HCM City and northern markets every day.
Pomelo is not the only fruit that has become well known internationally. Le Quang Ninh, Head of the Investment Promotion and Trade-Tourist Division under the Tien Giang Investment Promotion Centre, said that Russian market has accepted Tien Giang sweet mango, Tien Giang and Long An blue dragon, Tien Giang and Ben Tre rambutan.
Ninh said that the demand for Vietnamese fruits is very big in Russia, but Xoai Import-Export and Investment Company Ltd, one of the exporters of fruit to Russia, has not been able to send a lot of fruit to the market because of difficulties and high costs of carrying fruit by air.
Xoai Company is planning to set up a workshop in Tan My Chanh Industrial Zone in Tien Giang province which will collect fruits from farmers, do preliminary processing, packaging and then ship the exports by sea.
Besides Xoai, Tien Giang-based MT Company Ltd is also trying to send 1,000 tonnes of rambutan to the US and South Korea in 2008.
According to Hung, Ben Tre province now has 3,000 ha of pomelo-growing area, which is a necessary condition to expand the export market. However, it is still necessary to have support from the state, especially in farming techniques. Moreover, Vietnamese farmers need to have a cold storage system, which allows them to preserve the fruits after harvesting. Currently, only 30% of pomelo output are eligible for export; however, the rate may be 70-80% in the future if farmers make suitable investments in farming.
Ninh affirmed that though Russia and the US are difficult-to-please markets, meeting their requirements proves to be within reach.
VNN
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