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Exporter loses market due to transport issues
Exports of Lao-grown organic vegetables and fruit to the Middle East have been suspended after the buyer said the produce did not appear to be fresh on arrival.
“We've got this problem because of the difficulties we face in arranging transport,” farm owner Ms. Inpeng Samuntee said yesterday.
Produce from Pakxong Organic Farm on display at an agriculture trade fair last year.
Pakxong Organic Farm, which grows organic fruit and vegetables in Champassak province, had recently shipped 800kg of vegetables to a Middle Eastern market.
“But the goods were returned and the buyer asked for a temporary halt until I could organise an efficient method of transport,” Ms. Inpeng said.
The produce would have sold for at least 80,000 kip (US$10) per kilo in the Middle East and Ms Inpeng is disappointed to have lost this income. The 800kg was one shipment of a total of over 370 tonnes she is preparing to export to the Middle East.
“I have been selling some of the produce locally for about 5,000 kip per kilo,” Ms. Inpeng said.
She said the goods were not fresh on delivery because she did not use refrigerated cargo trucks.
The produce was well packed but she only used an ordinary truck, placing the packages in ice to keep them fresh.
They went through Thailand and underwent checks there before being loaded onto a cargo plane. But on the way the produce encountered high temperatures and began to deteriorate.
In an attempt to remedy the situation, she met with government officials to ask for financial backing to buy two refrigerated cargo trucks at a cost of about 1.6 billion kip (US$200,000).
“The Middle Eastern market will start to import vegetables from us again once we have the trucks,” Ms Inpeng said.
Pakxong Organic Farm produces bananas, pineapples, cabbages, asparagus, peppers, lettuce, onions, carrots, radishes, zucchini, potatoes, ginger, chayote, tamarind, coffee and tea.
The farm received organic certification from an international Halal Food group, after specialists from the group took soil and water samples for analysis. Some products were also tested, with the results certifying they were either organic or chemical-free.
Halal Food group is an international organisation that works on product checking and buying for supply to the Middle East.
The group hopes to buy over 370 tonnes of the farm's products per year, worth more than 9.7 billion kip (US$1.1 million).
The farm currently supplies products to neighbouring countries and to local minimarts and supermarkets, mainly in Vientiane.
The farm has grass fields where cattle graze. The animals are reared for their meat and also for the manure they produce, which is used for vegetable cultivation. The farm uses fertiliser made from animal dung, rice straw, waste vegetables and husks.
vientiane times
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